Ask Not for Another Opinion
by ExpendableVoice
Summary: Nora Valkyrie. A bombastic teen, but one with more worries in her life, especially now that she's found herself under the influence of a completely new... power? Semblance? Curse? Whatever it is, it's something she has to live with! But how exactly do you deal with something like a shoulder-angel and shoulder-devil? Especially if they're less angel/devil-like, and more... person-y?
1. How Do I Explain This to my Best Friend?

_Dedicated to the Monty Oum Project of 2016._

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Just how do I explain _this_ to my best friend?**

* * *

"Ren!"

Now, contrary to what it may seem, Nora Valkyrie was not a purely impulsive individual. Her antics, while bombastic, are always measured in some way. Sure, she may lack better judgement when it came to her favourite things, such as pancakes, Ren, or explosives, but her actions are directed by clear thought more often times than not—It's just that she has far more energy than most of her peers.

"Ren. Renny! Ren?"

At the very least, she was far more energetic than her closest friend, Lie Ren. Of course, that just meant that she was the perfect partner for him! At least, she hoped that they'd be partners. Neither of them knew too much about Beacon Academy beyond what was publicly available. Which wasn't much, beyond 'it's a fancy school' and 'really important huntsmen/huntresses are there'. There was probably more to it than that, of course, but Nora always made sure to only get the important bits of information.

Speaking of important, there was a reason why she was currently attempting to wake up her hopefully-will-be-partner. N-Not in that sense, of course, but in the huntsmen sense! Yeah!

What was she talking about?

"... Yes Nora?"

Oh, right! Nora immediately shook her head from her thoughts, turning towards the green gunman with a smile, one hand shooting up into the air as she greeted him proper. "Good morning Ren!"

"Good morning, Nora." He returned a resigned smile, an infinite font of patience as he turned his attention to the nearby clock for just a moment. "... But can I ask why you woke me up at 5 in the morning?"

Nora blinked, not realizing that it was that early. Instantly, she felt bad, since she knew how much Ren needed rest. His constitution wasn't the best, and she knew that she was far too energetic yesterday, so she had initially hoped to let him sleep in. Her gaze fell towards the floor, now more interested in the hardwood flooring of the hotel they were staying in, her eyes gradually shifting over to that dark corner over there, or to her bed on the other side of the room. Anywhere away from the source of her guilt.

"... Sorry Ren..."

"It's okay Nora. You wouldn't have woken me up if it was important. Now... What's the matter?"

Honestly, Ren was far too nice to her, and she knew it. Still, she couldn't help but smile at his words, his accepting demeanour deflating part of the self-guilt she had. Make no mistake though, she'll definitely let Ren sleep in the next chance she got. However, she _did_ have an important reason for waking him up. After all, she was reminded of this the moment her eyes fell on the bed.

"Umm... I just wanted to ask... Do you ever dream of having a shoulder angel who tries to tell you what to do, and a shoulder devil who argues with that angel about that stuff?" Nora knew she couldn't _outright_ say what her issue was; she wasn't that clueless, after all. Still, she needed help on her issue, and Ren was the smartest most awesome person she knew. The Valkyrie's gaze settled on Ren, trying to read his expression she flashed him a nervous smile.

"I've... never really had a dream like that, no. Why do you ask?"

"Y-you know! I was just wondering how you'd react if you did! It was in a... cartoon that I saw once! Yeah!" That wasn't technically a lie, since she had watched a cartoon that had a character with that little trait. And it's not like she hadn't entertained the idea of having a shoulder-sized Ren telling her if her actions were right or not, especially during those moments where he wasn't around for her to ask. "B-but, you know... Hypothetically, if you did... What would you... do?"

Nora flashed a meek smile at Ren.

Ren's deadpan gaze told her that he didn't buy it.

"Nora? Is there something you'd like to tell me?" No longer was her friend listless, his back having straightened up as he rose to his feet. No doubt, he saw the uneasiness in her words, and all she could do was pout at him. He always saw through her words, and it wasn't fair that she could never really hide things from him. Even the smaller stuff, from surprise gifts to surprise hugs to surprise pancakes, were not safe from his appraising gaze. So really, Nora shouldn't have been that upset that her friend had managed to see through her attempts at hiding her problem.

After all, it was not 'small stuff'.

"... Well... Promise you won't laugh at me?" Her voice was quiet, unsure of what to say as she turned her attention from Ren back to her bed. This was what she was most afraid of: Behind all of her antics, all of her silliness, and all of her exuberance, Nora Valkyrie was still a fragile teenager. Ren represented everything stable in her life, and she honestly did not want to lose all that, just because of something that was... That was...

What was that thing doing?!

"Hey! Don't sit on that!" Nora's voice immediately shot up as her attention turned to her weapon, propped up against the wall. Just what was that potentially-imaginary figure doing? How _dare_ he drink coffee on her weapon!? Without another word, the orange-haired girl lunged forward, dashing towards the other side of the room, completely missing Ren's confused glance as she tackled her hammer. The sound of face meeting wall echoed throughout the room, but Nora ignored the pain as she gave an appraising glance towards the hammer head, before sending a glare to a spot on the floor.

"What did you do that for?! Don't you know that coffee can really mess with Magnhild?"

She kept an angry pout fixed on that spot, her eyes narrowing for a good few seconds, before suddenly flashing with recognition. Her frustration shifted to one of embarrassment, her face red with anxiety as she turned back to the green gunman. Nora did not miss that blank look of confusion and concern that had formed on her partner's face. She felt everything from her cheeks to her ears heat up, her eyes shooting back down to the floor as she blurted out a pathetic apology-excuse-thing.

"Uhm... I mean, uh... I-gotta-go-check-on-our-morning-laundry-for-breakfast-help-bye!"

And just like that, she was out the nearest door, not giving Ren a chance to question her.

* * *

Nora Valkyrie was not a happy camper, and she made this known as she glared towards her problem.

"While I am sorry about how your conversation concluded... I must say that I did warn you."

And of course, the first half of her problem had the audacity to rebuke her. Not only did she ruin her chances of talking with Ren about the issue, but he followed her out the room without actually following her! Even now, Nora wasn't quite sure _how_ the tiny glasses guy did it. She threw a frustrated glare towards her shoulder, staring down at the object of her ire, her eyes squinting as she watched the green-dressed man sip at his tiny coffee cup. The tiny coffee cup with her pink hammer symbol plastered onto it.

Even she was hard-pressed to the sheer oddity of it, and the girl found herself wondering where the man had managed to find coffee in a hotel like this. Last she recalled, the staff said they were out, for some odd reason.

"...Ugh, whatever! It's not my fault you're so difficult!"

"Now now, Miss Valkyrie. Do not lay the blame solely at my feet. I did try to be as accommodating as possible, did I not?" She could almost see the smirk behind the mug. Either he was enjoying this, or... She was really bad at reading people. Which she was, but that weakness didn't extend to strange might-be-imaginary shoulder people, right?

"You were sitting on Magnhild while drinking your thingy! You could've spilt coffee on it, and that would've exploded the wall, and then Ren would've yelled at me!"

"I am quite familiar with your weapon, Miss Valkyrie, and I assure that the chances of such an incident occurring are... quite low." The annoying man took another sip of his mug as he leaned against his cane, the tiny prop pushing against her shoulder with an almost unnoticeable pressure. "Besides, both my associate and I are incapable of interacting with the world on the same scale as you."

"That's a lie and you know it!" And Nora would not be buying any of his filthy lies for even a second! The white-haired man and his black-haired partner-in-crime were definitely responsible for the loss of some of her dummy rounds—She was sure of this! After all, she had received no less than three complaints from Ren last week, lecturing her about properly storing her grenades, even though she _knew_ she put them away; That left only one culprit! "She's the whole reason I was grounded yester-month!"

"Yeah, can't say anything about that, can you?! I knew it was the fault of you and your evil cohort!" Nora gave a triumphant smirk as she turned her head towards the ceiling, nodding to herself before dropping the expression entirely. Waaaiiit a minute. "... Where is she, anyways?"

"... Oh, you know how she is with sensitive dust machines. Last I recall, she was trying to reacquaint herself with the ventilation system. She was quite adamant about exploring the facility's-"

"Shut _up_ , Ozpin."

The second half of Nora's problems made herself known. There was a fiery poof on Nora's other shoulder, and the Valkyrie spotted the missing shoulder-person. Just like before, she wore the same bright-red dress with the fancy orange lines, and her hair was a silky-black as Nora's hair was orange, though far longer. And just like the first shoulder-person, firelady had Nora's symbol etched on her person somewhere, showing up as a pink tattoo that was scribbled between her shoulders.

Honestly, she was fancy and well-dressed, and would've been impressive if not for the clumps of dust that were in her hair.

"... Are you okay?" Rather than anger, Nora showed concern for the little woman, her eyes finally noticing that the black-haired person's dress was far more disorganized than usual. There was even a light dusting of pink powder on the hem of her... Wait...

"No, I am not. Incidentally, you're missing another one of your grenades." The woman gave an annoyed huff as she turned her gaze to her counterpart, glaring at the miniature man as she pointed an accusatory finger at the man. " _He_ decided it would be a good idea to modify your ammunition while under the influence of that _devil drink_."

"Come now, Miss Fall. We must always strive to help assist our benefactor in her endeavours, and if she truly wishes to become a huntress, then it is our duty to fully realize her potential." Even Nora could hear the condescending tone in the man's voice, a mixture of chiding mirth and sarcasm that ... made Nora wonder if she misremembered the definition of condescending. She'd have to ask Ren later abou-

"Oh no! Ren! He's going to have so many questions..." Whatever mood Nora had before was quickly replaced by dread, instantly slumping over her upper body flopped against empty air. At least there was a counter for her to catch herself at, and this allowed the young woman to slowly organize her thoughts. "... No... I think I can explain this. I-I'll just say that I had to check on something, and he'll understand. Right Ozman?"

"Miss Valkyrie, I've informed you this before, but my name is Ozpin."

"Quiet Ozzers! You're the reason I'm in this mess! I'm just lucky that Ren hasn't caught up with me, or he'd be asking all sorts of questions!" She glared at the tiny man, her emotions once again replaced by others, worry fading to frustration. Then back to worry, when she realized that, yes, she'd have to answer Ren properly. She knew her friend was far too perceptive of this, and she also knew she had no chance of hiding the issue forever.

"Um..." The sound of tiny woman's voice broke Nora away from her thoughts, as she gave an awkward cough. "You... understand that you haven't actually escaped from your friend, right?"

"What do you mean?" Confusion flashed in Nora's eyes as she turned towards the tiny Cinder.

"You hid in the bathroom. He's standing right there." Cinder gave a dismissive wave, smirking at the look of horror that appeared on Nora's face as she gestured towards the _very open_ doorway. "Have fun with that, by the way."

There was a moment of silence, as Nora finally turned her gaze away from the shoulder-woman towards the door.

Yep.

She was right.

Her partner was _right there_ , confusion plastered on his face, the young man's expression mixed with equal amounts concern and ... more concern, as he stood in the middle of the doorway.


	2. How Much Did Our Talk Change Things?

**Chapter 2: Just how much did our talk change things?**

* * *

Nora froze.

Well, not literally, and barely even figuratively, since she only did that deer-in-headlights thing for a few seconds. However, it was still a good way to describe how she reacted the moment she saw Ren, standing at the doorway with a worried expression on his face.

That part hurt the most, really. The last thing she wanted to do was to worry Ren, but the Valkyrie just wasn't prepared to talk with him yet. Even if he deserved to know...

"Nora..." His voice was the same as always. Soft-spoken and concerned, with that tone of understanding and kindness that had always made Ren... Ren. Which was why it hurt so much to keep quiet about this. It's not like she didn't _want_ to tell her bestest friend, it's just that she just didn't know _how_ to tell him. After all, Nora knew how crazy her entire situation sounded, what with having shoulder people who argued with each other, drank coffee, and detonated her grenades.

At best, Ren would end up worrying about her, trying to help her cope, like how he always does... But Nora knew that things didn't always turn out for the best. The little Valkyrie was worried about what'd happen in the worst case. After all, if this was what caused Ren to... No. She didn't want to think about it anymore. The last thing Nora wanted was for them to drift apart, especially because of something as silly as this.

So she had to keep quiet!

Nora resolved herself, standing ramrod straight as she gripped Magnhild tightly, her eyes instantly focusing on an empty spot in the air, as she began pondering her options. Of course, this meant that she missed the tired sigh of her friend, who had long since learned to recognize these little plotting sessions of hers.

But onto more important matters! How would she keep quiet about this? Ren was right there, and if she knew her friend, she knew that she'd somehow be spilling the beans in a guilt-ridden mass of tears before he even got a chance to ask her a question. Part of Ren's devious wiles, really.

And as humourous as her mind made that out to be, she knew it was true. Ren... always knew what to say to her. How to act. No matter what bothered her, he could always draw out her darkest insecurities, slowly work them out, and resolve it so it didn't bother her anymore. This was part of the reason why she felt bad for keeping things from him, since her best friend always how help her feel better. Which made her guilty for keeping them from her in the first place.

But this time, she _couldn't_ tell Ren about this, no matter how much she wanted to. It was different, this time.

Which was why she couldn't allow herself to be defeated here! Nora shook her head, earning a curious glance from her best friend. A glance that she had missed, as the rest of her body initiated her fight-or-flight instincts, kicking them into gear as the orange-haired hammerwielder tried to figure out exactly how she was supposed to escape. Fight? Or flight?

Well, first of all, she couldn't "flight", because she's a person and people can't fly, silly. Although things would be so much easier if she could, whether they're day-to-day things or her future-huntsman-things! But that was for later; for now, that meant she had to fight.

But _what_ did she have to fight?

She could never fight Ren, especially since he was concerned about her safety. And because he was Ren, and they had been through so much together. So, logically, that meant she was supposed to fight something else instead. Nora's eyes glanced around the bathroom, moving from the drab hotel towel thing to the fancy countertop. Her attention drifted from the sink to the shower to the... wall. Yes, the wall! If she fights the wall, she'll make her own exit! And then she'll be able to run away befo-

"Nora, whatever you're thinking about... Please no."

Ren's voice instantly snapped the girl from her thoughts. Just like that, his voice broke down what resistance she had, and the girl was left with her worries, resigning herself to her fate. A part of her wanted to be playfully defiant to the end, and the Valkyrie flashed a sorta-playful half-pout to the green gunman as her eyes met his.

"Now... Do you want to tell me what it's all about?"

Nora's shoulders slumped as she lowered her head, the sight of his concerned face sealing the deal as she felt her chest tighten. There was no way she'd be worming out of this, even if Ren ends up saying that she didn't actually need to talk about it. So, rather than wallowing in doubt and confusion, she had no choice but to tell him the whole truth.

"Err... Promise you won't be upset at me?" Of course, she knew Ren wouldn't be upset, but Nora couldn't even properly voice her fear of Ren seeing her as crazy. Yet, it seemed like Ren sensed even that little hesitation as his eyes softened, giving the her a nod and a reassuring smile as his posture relaxed.  
"Okay. Well... it started about two months ago, after we qualified for Beacon..."

* * *

Barely two minutes had passed by the time Nora Valkyrie had finished her story. She could see the surprise on her friend's face, since the entire tale was far shorter than its seriousness would've suggested. Yet, there was nothing the orange-haired girl could do about that, since she was just as lost as her partner was, only able to tell things from her limited perspective. And unfortunately, the two others had been exceedingly tight-lipped on the manner, so her retelling ended up seeming more like a hazy half-dream than an actual story.

But that wasn't her fault! There were only so many ways you could say 'They exploded in one day, started saying that I shouldn't panic, and then stuck around since', and she had even tried to be eloquent about it! At the very least, she tried to inform Ren that the subsequent grenade detonations that day weren't on purpose, and that she had just been surprised by the appearance of foot-tall mystery people.

"I liked my version better."

The voice of one such shoulder person, the man who had a strange obsession to coffee, broke Nora from her thoughts. Her gaze immediately turned away from Ren, an action that her friend undoubtedly, as the Valkyrie's turquoise eyes fell to the source. As always, the man had appeared suddenly on her shoulder, his arrival signified by a single poof of light smoke and cog-shaped clouds...

Which wasn't normal in the slightest, she realized. But, before she could comment on the new visual effect, another poof made its presence known, her other shoulder exploding in a harmless puff of fire.

"Oh please, Ozpin. Your version's embellished, and glosses over far too many important details that you simply wished to see swept away." The black-haired beauty scoffed as she made her entrance, ignoring Nora's confused glance as she threw a glare towards her counterpart.

The miniature Ozpin, for the most part, gave no heed to the woman's barbs, ignoring them in favour of his own critique as he took a sip from his coffee cup. "And your particular story skirts the line between dramatic, idealistic, and terribly short sighted, Miss Fall. A bit surprising, considering your position and previous experiences, wouldn't you say?"

Nora flinched at the ensuing argument, as miniature puffs of fire arced over her shoulders, aimed squarely at the green-suited man. They hit, of course, but not before the man ... split? himself apart, leaving behind something that caught the fire, exploding in a puff of coffee-scented smoke. It was... weird, especially since she had never seen anything like that before, and the Valkyrie could even begin to question what that meant. Fire was easy understand; whatever Ozman did was not.

But, before she could question that further, the sound of her friend's voice snapped her from her thoughts, drowning out the complaints of the little red lady and her comments about 'new powers' or something.

"Nora... I want you to tell me the truth..."

Nora's chest tightened, her heart nearly stopping at the words. Did this mean that he didn't believe her? That he thought that she was crazy, and that there was no hope for her? The girl's face visibly paled, her shoulders slackening as she released Magnhild, paying no attention to the warhammer as it collapsed with a thud. If Ren didn't believe her, and she just ruined her chances of ever sticking by him again, the-

"Nora, please, calm down. I just want to be sure that you didn't dream it... That you truly believe it's something happening to you."

Was... was that better? The Valkyrie honestly didn't know, so she kept herself quiet, her eyes gazing off into the distance as she slowly began to nod. Nora didn't trust herself with actually talking now, her voice caught at her throat as she tried not to stare at Ren, unable to bring herself to see whether he honestly believed her, or he honestly didn't.

"I see..."

His voice was quiet, barely audible in the air, a stark contrast to the growing melee that the shoulder people had engulfed themselves within. Nora paid no attention to the bursts of flame and shrapnel, nor the frustrated yells of the two shoulder people, barely registering the male voice lamenting over fallen coffee. Instead, she closed her eyes, her head drooping as she waited for her best friend's judgement.

It came in the form of a hug.

Her eyes shot open as she turned to Ren, not quite sure of what to make of it, even as she began to lose herself to the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. It wasn't the first time he had done this, and instantly, the Valkyrie leaned herself against her friend, the familiar comfort taking her senses as she hugged him back.

"Listen Nora. I know you aren't the type to joke about something this serious... And I've also noticed a few... odd things around. So please, don't worry. I believe you."

For that singular moment, Nora Valkyrie was no longer a worried teenager at the end of her ropes, but a simple little girl, capable of only a beaming smile as her arms tightened around Ren. She didn't even mind the sudden quip by the shoulder person, as one voice threw its words at the other.

"I believe you owe me 5 Lien."

"...Hmm."

* * *

Now that she wasn't worrying about her best friend anymore, Nora Valkyrie slipped back into her usual excited self, playfully hopping about as they began packing their stuff. At least, Renny did. The only thing Nora had to pack was a bag or two of her bare essentials, and she had already stored them in an easy-to-carry pile.

"I understand that you possess a great deal of strength, Miss Valkyrie, but surely you see the benefits in utilizing a more... efficient packing method?"

Easy. To. Carry.

And no tiny coffee-addict was going to tell her otherwise. Nora crossed her arms, giving a huff to the green-suited man, ignoring him as the girl turned her sights to... The clock! Yes! It's important to tell the time, especially since her little outburst earlier had occurred so early in the morning. It seemed that her sprinting and door-slamming had caught the attention of hotel management, and she had ended up receiving a lecture about keeping track of time. Courtesy of Ren, since he's the best.

"As you wish, Miss Valkyrie." The tiny green man gave a sigh, his voice tired and drawn out, and Nora could almost hear the eye-rolling as he began sipping at his cup.

It seemed that the man had finally given up trying to change perfection. Nora smiled to herself as she bundled her stuff into a pile, slowly forcing her luggage into one singular point, as she went through the arduous task of packing everything into her luggage container. Her singular, much-smaller-than-the-pile luggage container. Of course, this was something most people thought abnormal, and that observation seemed to hold true for tiny advisers as well.

"How is she... ?"

The fancy-dressed woman chose this moment to appear, another puff of smoke signalling her entrance as she stood beside the mini Ozpin. From the corner of her eye, Nora noticed that the Fall lady had acquired a tiny comb from... somewhere, the tiny woman's actions pausing for just a moment. She quickly recovered, though, and by the time Nora had fit her weights into her bag, Cinder had resumed brushing her hair.

"Ah, yes. I forgot that you weren't around when she packed last time."

"That still doesn't explain how..."

For his part, the rude little man ignored his friend's question as he sipped loudly at his cup instead, paying no attention to the people around him. At least he wasn't spilling the coffee this time. The last time he drank his annoying stuff, it had been on top of Magnhild, and the last thing Nora needed was to clean miniature coffee stains...

"Hey! Why do you two keep sitting on that?"

Nora scrambled to her feet, making her way over to her weapon as she glared down at the two. Once again, the two shoulder people were seated on Magnhild, her weapon once again propped up against the wall. And, once again, the two ignored her, the man giving her a noncommittal shrug while the woman settled her attention on her hair. So, rather than deal with it, Nora grabbed her weapon, shifting it back to its launcher form as she fixed it behind her back.

As always, the moment she reached for her weapon, the two shoulder people disappeared, poofing back onto her actual shoulders before she could do anything to them; Another part of the confusion that she didn't understand, really, but she had accepted it long ago. Instead, she gave the two a glare, starting with the little green coffee gremlin as her eyes bore down on him. It seemed to have its usual effect of doing absolutely nothing to the tiny man, as Ozpin didn't even acknowledge her, his eyes focused on something in the distance.

Out of curiosity, she followed his gaze, and her attention soon found itself attached to the digital display that was fixed to the wall. Nora's eyes didn't leave the clock, squinting a bit as she read the time. There was... something odd about it, and she simply had to ask her friend a question.

"Hey Renny?"

"Yes Nora?"

"What time was our plane thing supposed to be?"

She slowly turned her head from the clock to her friend, her curiosity matching his... not-curiosity. Well, maybe not matching, but she did spot a brief flicker of surprise as he continued packing, a quick flash that paused his motions for just a few moments. That soon disappeared, but it gave way to another expression as he closed his eyes. Ren was silent for a few moments, letting out a tired sigh before finally opening them.

"... 7:50. Why?"

"Oh. Well..."

Nora paused, not quite sure what to say to her friend. She was definitely certain that the time was... _something_ sorta related to that? But she wanted to check the clock again to be sure, and her eyes flickered nervously between Ren and the display.

"... It's 8 o'clock, isn't it?"

"Uhm... 8:49, actually..."

There was another brief moment of silence, as the two teenagers slowly stared at one another, then at the clock. It took another few seconds before they found their eyes on each other again, as realization hit.

8:49 changed to 8:50, and the room was suddenly left empty, the two teenagers having left people-shaped dust clouds in their wake.


	3. We Didn't Miss Our Plane Ride, Right?

**Chapter 3: At Least We Didn't Miss Our Plane Ride, Right?**

* * *

"Gotta run gotta run gotta run!"

Frantic was not strong enough of a word to describe Nora's voice. If anything, it was the least appropriate, as it painted the picture that she was merely panicked and anxious. Not that she wasn't, of course, since she was feeling the sting of those emotions as well, but something else stood at the forefront of the little pink Valkyrie's thoughts.

Excitement.

After all, she was going to Beacon! With her best friend, Ren! Sure, they were late for their first flight, but that's why they planned early, right? Not that she denied it being her fault or anything, but she felt that the prospect of attending the prestigious huntsman academy was far more overwhelming than simply being late for one of the earlier flights. Nora shot a quick glance towards her friend, wondering if he agreed with her thoughts.

She didn't ask the question directly, of course. She had been with Renny long enough to be able to read his face, and he hers. Sure, there may have been some miscommunication once in a while, but they were still capable of conversing with nothing more than facial expressions and body language. At least, she'd like to think so... And considering how often Ren had been able to preempt all of her questions in the past, Nora was certain that this was the case.

So, rather than ask, Nora grinned at the green-garbed teenager.

That's odd... Why is Ren giving out that face? Does he not want to go to Beacon with her? No, that can't be it; they were _both_ excited to join up and be huntsmen. Huntresses? Huntsmentresses! ... Nah, that word would never catch on. But that still didn't explain why Ren was so worried. Was it because of how silly the word was? No, that's not-

"Nora?"

The calm tone of Ren's voice broke Nora from her thoughts, and the orange-haired girl immediately shifted her attention back to her friend, paying no heed to the environment around them as she sped down the street.

"Yes Ren?"

"Would you like me to lead?"

That was an odd question. Wasn't he already leading? After all, she was following him. Nora blinked at the statement, her green eyes fixed on her childhood friend as she continued making her way down the street. "What do you mean, Renny?"

Rather than Ren, however, another voice answered her.

"... How?!"

The voice was definitely female, and Nora was confused as to who it was for just a few moments. However, all it took was a glance at the source, and she could see the long-haired red-dress-lady clinging to her shoulder, her miniature body waving in the wind as she clung on to dear life... Which was weird. Didn't Ozman say that they didn't need to worry about speed limits or something? Oh well, she'd ask him later. For now, Nora was more concerned with whatever it was the fancy-dressed lady was bothered by.

"How what?"

"Seriously? _Seriously?!_ " The woman shot a look of incredulous surprise back at Nora, looking up from her shoulder-spot as her amber eyes bore into Nora. Her eyes then widened when she realized that Nora had no clue what she was talking about. "... How do you _not_ notice that you've been dragging around your associate for the _past ten minutes?!_ "

"I have?"

Nora ignored the frustrated groan that shrieked out from her shoulder, as he gaze shifted back towards Ren. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as the seconds passed, the energetic Valkryie noticed that there was a slight look of concern on the young man's face, and Nora's sight drifted lower, first to his shoulders, then to his arm. Then, to the hand that was clasped firmly on his arm.

There was a pause.

"...Hey Renny?"

"Yes Nora?"

Ever the patient one, Ren's voice was calm and collected, even though she was certain that he had noticed her new state of... noticing. Sure, she could've put it more eloquently, but she was more concerned about the mistake she had just made. Her cheeks flared red with embarrassment as she slowly came to a stop, finally letting go of the boy's hand as she stared up at him.

"... I'm sorry..."

And, like always, Ren seemed to accept her for who she was, giving no words of scorn or derision as the man simply offered her a warm smile in return. Without another word, Ren brought a hand up to her shoulder, giving Nora a reassuring pat, letting silence linger for a few moments before speaking his mind. "There's no need to apologize, Nora. I'm just as excited as you are. I just wanted to know if you'd like me to lead us there, since we're taking a slightly different route from yesterday."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Knowing that Ren didn't dislike her or find her a bother did wonders for Nora's mood, and she quickly shook off the self-doubt that was building in her mind. Instead, she turned her attention to her partner, tilting her head to the side in curiosity and confusion. "Weren't we supposed to go to the shuttle pad things?"

"Actually, Miss Valkyrie, I believe prospective students have an assigned shuttle destination near the southern terminals." The voice was sudden, and Nora jumped at the sudden arrival of the speaker. Of course, she knew who this was, and all it took was a simple glance towards her other shoulder to confirm it. There, sitting on some magical floating mini-chair, was the coffee goblin himself.

And unlike the long-haired woman on her left shoulder, Nora had noticed that the green-scarfed glasses man was completely unperturbed by the little sprint that she had taken. Unfortunately for Ozpin, She wasn't the only one who noticed this little oddity.

"Damnit Ozpin! Why is it that _I_ have to hang around while you go off to... steal coffee! Or whatever it is you do!"

One odd thing that Nora had noticed about her advisers were that, no matter how loud they were, no one really noticed them... Not even her eardrums. That was an odd way to put it, sure, but there wasn't any other way to describe it. The tiny woman was yelling at the top of her lungs, but despite how loud she was shouting, Nora didn't even flinch at the shrill voice. That _was_ odd, right?

Unfortunately, no one was able to answer her unspoken questions. Ren had turned his attention to his Scroll, while Ozpin and Cinder seemed content to yell at each other. Well, Cinder was yelling, Ozpin was being his usual self of completely ignoring her, his attention completely focused on a miniature newspaper to match his miniature mug and miniature chair.

...Where was he getting all of this?

Rather than ask that, however, it was more important to confirm the man's statement. Tearing her attention away from the two, Nora shifted her gaze back to Ren, curiosity in her eyes. "Hey Ren...? Is it true that we're supposed to be at the southern terminals?"

Ren turned his attention away from his Scroll, eyes falling to the Valkyrie as he tilted his head to the side. "No, I don't believe so. According to this, students like us are supposed to head to the western terminal. Why?"

"No reason!" Nora quickly shrugged the question away, pausing only to throw a playful smirk at the know-it-all shoulder man. This action was mirrored by the tiny woman on Nora's shoulder, as both took the opportunity to revel in the man's complete wrong-ness and incorrect statements.

It was supposed to be good, lighthearted fun, since Ozman always made it a point to be a know-it-all. However, Nora immediately froze when she saw the expression on the man's face... Or lack of expression? Rather than react, the green-garbed shoulder-man seemed to be completely lost in thought, letting his tiny newspaper fall to the ground, disappearing in a puff of smoke as he stared into his coffee.

"... Is that so?" The man's tone was different enough that it even gave Cinder pause.

But before Nora could question it further, Ren's voice spoke up, and the Valkyrie was quickly reminded of their waning schedule. There'd be time to question Ozpin on the plane... For now, the two quickly made their way to the proper terminal.

* * *

Okay, so maybe the dust plane _wasn't_ the best place to ask question to a tiny man that only she could see.

As soon as they stepped onto the vehicle, Nora was reminded of _how many_ people were trying to get into beacon. In this compartment alone, Nora could see dozens of students clustered together, talking to themselves or chatting on their Scrolls as they looked out the window with varying degrees of concern. Undoubtedly, they were nervous about whatever tests and trials they'd have to overcome in order to properly enter Beacon.

Nora did not share their concerns. How could she? She had Ren by her side!

Okay, maybe that was a bit too prideful; she had always been taught to never lose focus, and just because she and Ren made the bestest crime-fighting duo didn't mean that they could afford to relax. Still, she didn't see much point on worrying about things while they were already on the plane, so she decided not to follow her peers in their actions. Instead, she'd follow Ren!

...All it took was a quick look at the green-robed teenager for Nora to change her mind. For some reason, Ren was even less worried about their trip to Beacon than she was, as the young man had decided to take a nap on one of the nearby seats. Of course, Nora didn't blame him, since she was fairly certain that she was the cause of his lack of sleep. That didn't change the fact that he was missing the sights... Maybe she should take a few pictures with her Scroll?

Nah. When they become students, they'll be able to see this view whenever they plane back to the city.

So, rather than worry about that, she decided to let her eyes wander. Almost instantly, she began picking out the fancier people in the crowd. Most of the students were fairly nondescript, wearing common clothing that followed whatever trends were in style, while other students went with this silly military uniformed look, or what they thought a huntsman was supposed to look like. There was even a boy who was doing both, wearing a hoodie and a breastplate at the same time, all while he was... eww.

Nora quickly turned her attention elsewhere. Fortunately, a distraction came easily, as a certain woman's voice filled the air, letting out a derisive chuckle.

" _This_ is what passes for Beacon's brightest? This is almost laughable." Cinder stood on Nora's shoulders, her face almost sneering at the other students as she scanned the horizon. Nora wasn't quite sure why the woman disliked huntsmen so much, or why she carried herself with so much... anger? Was that the way to describe her? Either way, the orange-haired hammer-wielder was concerned, and simply had to ask.

So, she did. Still, she didn't want to look crazy, so the Valkyrie took out her scroll, bringing it up to her ear before quietly speaking out, her voice soft enough to gather the scarlet lady's attention.

"Hey, I've been wondering... Why do you hate huntsmentresses?"

That question was enough to catch Cinder off-guard. Nora was almost proud of herself for such a direct question, one that brought to light a fundamental worry of-

"...Huntsmentresses? Really?" The look that Cinder gave her quickly told Nora that she was stopped, not by the question, but by the ridiculous word that the Valkyrie had attempted to use. With that said, Nora stood by the question entirely, and merely stared back at the red-dressed woman. Eventually, the woman dismissed the thought, shrugging away the silliness of the word as she finally answered. "I guess it doesn't matter _what_ you call them... But you want to know why I hate huntsmen?"

Nora nodded at that question; of course she wanted to know. Nora might not have had the best upbringing, and she certainly wasn't naive enough to think that everyone liked everything equally... But there was just a certain amount of disdain that Cinder seemed to hold that Nora couldn't quite place. Even if she was potentially a figment of her imagination, the Valkyrie wanted to know the reasons that left that little woman so spiteful.

But Cinder would have none of it, it seemed. The woman rolled her eyes, before gesturing to Nora's other shoulder, shrugging dismissively at the person seated there. "Rather than ask me, you should consider asking _him_. He knows exactly why I hold my views."

"On the contrary, Miss Fall, I must say that I am not privy to your tumultuous emotions." The man in question maintained his air of neutrality, quietly sipping on his mug as he read his... miniature scroll? What happened to the tiny newspaper? "Whatever teenage angst or childish rebellion you wish to work out with the world is simply beyond me."

Even Nora could feel the smug hidden behind the man's tiny coffee cup. Just as she could feel the anger that was slowly consuming the shoulder-bound woman, gradually heating up as she processed that statement. Almost instantly, the air ignited, a tiny puff of flame forming around the shoulder woman. Panic filled Nora's mind, immediately turning her attention to the rest of the cabinet, praying to whatever god existed that no one would notice.

Thankfully, as was the case with the rest of their antics, the rest of the world seemed blissfully unaware of the feud between Nora's probably-imaginary shoulder advisers. Which was for the best, as arcs of flame began flying through the air, missing the coffeemancer entirely as the tiny sparks fizzled against the wall. Part of her mind wondered whether the tiny scorch-marks would eventually fade, but most of her attention had simply settled on the two warring mini-people.

More specifically, at the low-flying coffee mug that was now sailing through the air. Coffee flew out in a graceful arc, splattering the non-existent drink on everything, leaving behind absolutely no stains whatsoever.

Well, except for the very visible coffee stains that had drenched Cinder. There was a moment of silence, mortification slowly dawning on the red-dressed woman as she looked down at her attire, then back to the tiny man.

"... DAMNIT OZPIN!"

And with that, she disappeared in a puff of smoke, no doubt to wash away her stains in... wherever they disappeared to. Nora would've asked, if it wasn't for the fact that the orientation had begun. Automated orientation? Well, the plane's holo-display activated, at any rate. Without warning, the newscast that had been playing in the background flickered away, only to be replaced by the hologram of some woman in a school uniform.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon."

"Huh? Whossat?" Nora tilted her head to the side. The woman looked official, and was probably someone that the Valkyrie should've recognized. In spite of that, however, the pink teenager was left ignorant. Fortunately, it seemed that her shoulder companion had the answer, as he chose that moment to speak out.

"... If I'm not mistaken... That's Glynda Goodwitch."

Was the man's voice heavier? He sounded... different, this time. Yet, before Nora could question Ozman's change in tone, the hologram continued her speech, leaving whatever questions Nora had to the wayside.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Ha! You thought it was abandoned, but in actuality, it was being worked on all along! In all seriousness, I apologize for the delay in my stories, and this one in particular, especially since I really want to flesh out the idea of this plot line._


	4. A Plane Ride was a Learning Experience?

**Chapter 4: Who Knew that a Plane Ride was a Learning Experience?**

* * *

About the only new piece of information that Nora had managed to learn from the blonde lady's speech was her name, as well as the fact that she was a teacher at Beacon. Well, okay, she also learned that the green shoulder-man wasn't wrong about her name, either. That counts, right? Everything else, from the fact that they were part of a small group of people who had been accepted into the academy, to the fact that they would spend their next four years here to learn how to uphold peace in the world as huntsmentresses, was stuff that she already knew about.

After all, you don't apply to a place like Beacon without knowing the basics like that. And sure, they didn't exactly apply like some of the other students, at least not in the usual sense, but both Nora and her bestest friend knew what they were getting into. Which was why her thoughts weren't really on the speech at all.

See, what was more surprising for the orange-haired Valkyrie was the fact that, despite her own lack of knowledge, the man on her shoulder was right about something. Something she didn't know about. And a name like Glynda Goodwitch wasn't something you could guess, either, which... made her feel a bit better, if she was completely honest. A small part of her mind held onto the hope that maybe he wasn't just a hallucination.

Ren must've noticed her shift in mood, as the pink-garbed hammerwielder soon felt the gentle touch of her friend's hand on her shoulder.

"Is everything okay, Nora?"

It was times like these that made Nora think that Ren was too good for her. Wasn't he taking a nap a few minutes ago? And now, here he was, worrying about her just because she had decided to get lost in her own little thoughts again.

No, that wasn't fair to Ren, and she knew it. Besides, even if she didn't completely trust herself to know the situation, Ren trusted her to trust herself! Or... something like that. Which was why she wouldn't let it get her down. Which was why the Valkyrie took the effort to push those worries out of her mind, clearing her head as she gave her friend a simple nod.

"Yep!" That was all she needed to say. No reason to elaborate, because he knew that she'd talk with him whenever she needed help, and she knew that he knew. So rather than say anything else, she smiled at her friend, positively beaming as she grinned at him.

His response was a simple nod, before settling back into his seat, closing his eyes once more. He really must've been tired, and Nora felt a little bad for her part in his lack-of-sleep-ness... Perhaps she should let him sleep or something. Then again, there was only twenty or so minutes before they reached Beacon, so she wasn't sure if there was enough time for her friend to take a nap.

... Unless she helped. An idea immediately flashed into her mind.

"Hey Renny? We have half an hour before we make it to the school place, right?"

"Around that, though we need to take time to retrieve our luggage as well." Ren's eyes were closed as he answered her. Nora was certain that he needed more rest, now. "Why do you ask, Nora?"

"Weeell... Since I kind of woke you up today, you didn't get enough sleep. So I was thinking I could be the one to move all of our stuff, and you could get more time for more nap!" She all but puffed out her chest, completely certain of the logic behind her idea. Nora was strong enough to carry everything, after all. Heck, she could probably carry a sleeping Ren as well, if it wasn't for the fact that he was literally a ninja, and was a light sleeper.

But yeah. Besides that little bit, she was certain that it was a great idea! She'd retrieve their luggage and drop them off, and Ren would be able to sleep in and not worry about anything! So... Why did Ren suddenly sit up from his spot? Not only was he no longer relaxed, he was even using that face he used whenever he tried to convince her _not_ to do something. Couldn't he see it was for his own good?

"You don't need to worry about that, Nora. I've gotten plenty of..."

And then his voice trailed off. There was a reason for that, of course; he wasn't the only one who could do serious faces. Nora had her own expressions to use during their little interactions, and her experience had told her that, nearly 100% of the time, puppy-eyed-Nora wins against lecturer-Ren. For added effect, she even gave a slight pout to her lower lip, her turquoise eyes bearing up at the black-haired teenager.

Ren gave a sigh, his eyes closing again as he leant back into his seat. That little action was more than enough to tell Nora that she had won their little argument. Well, that, and the subdued tone of her friend's voice. "... I understand. Thank you, Nora."

"Yaay!" Her expression instantly snapped back to a grin. And why shouldn't it? As little as it may have been, Nora still did something to help take care of Ren. Sure, it wasn't much compared to all the ways Ren had taken care of her, and she really wasn't doing anything but making sure he had time to rest, but every little bit counts. Which was why she wouldn't budge on the issue.

So what was the best way to make sure that Ren actually rests? To leave him alone, and give him nothing to worry about, of course! After all, he had been napping earlier, but still ended up waking up to comfort her, just because he somehow noticed her brooding-y thoughts. Ren's ninja-senses were truly formidable, and the only way to defeat them would be to remove herself from the area.

"Alright Renny, I'm going to go take a quick walk around the ship or something. Get some rest, okay?"

It was the best solution. Not only would Ren be able to sleep, she'd be able to wander around and maybe learn something about her classmates! It was a win-win! Still, her best friend looked like he wanted to say something, maybe act all silly and protest for some reason, but Nora wouldn't compromise on that.

"...Okay, Renny?" Instead, she gave him a simple stare, almost daring him to disagree with her as she crossed her arms.

Ren sighed, giving her a final nod as he laxed his shoulders again. Whatever it was he had planned to say was soon replaced by a subdued voice. Maybe he realized that they were on a ship, and nothing bad could really happen?

"Okay Nora. You win. But if you need me, just send a message, alright?"

"Alright. Now, g'night!" Ignoring the fact that it was mid morning, Nora gave her friend an energetic wave, flashing him one final smile before heading off to explore the ship.

* * *

"You know Miss Valkyrie... for an aspiring huntress-in-training, I can't help but note that you're uncharacteristically manipulative."

Ozpin's voice echoed from beside Nora, the miniature green man having already replaced his previous serving of coffee with a fresh batch, now holding a small thermos in place of the usual ceramic mug. Nora herself wasn't sure where he had gotten it, but that was a moot point by now; Both Ozpin and Cinder regularly exchanged their items and outfits with other things on a daily basis, and she had just learned to accept it.

"Manipulative? That's rich, coming from you." Speaking of Cinder and outfits, the tiny lady now stood on Nora's shoulders, dressed in, of all things, a student uniform. She understood that the lady's old outfit was stained in coffee, but why did she choose a student uniform to replace it? Nora didn't recognize the design, and couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.

Not that she could do much else beyond tilting her head. The last thing the teenager wanted to do was to draw more attention to herself by talking to her shoulder. She was supposed to make a good impression with people! Or, at least, not cause any trouble for Ren. And she could only imagine how troubled he'd be if rumours suddenly began popping up that she was crazy, and that he was a weirdo for being friends with her.

And the fact that he'd continue being friends with her would only make it worse, since-

"Why, what ever do you mean, Miss Fall?" Ozpin's voice broke Nora away from her thoughts. Well, the taunting tone of his voice, specifically. It definitely grated on the tiny lady's nerves, and Nora knew that he was doing it on purpose. "And I was unaware that you were a student of Haven. Though I suppose that explains your... colourful attitude and disdain towards authority."

"Don't you _dare_ play coy with me, Ozpin." And Judging by Cinder's voice, it seemed that the coffee addict's words fulfilled their job. Heat seemed to radiate from her shoulder again, all while the woman's mood turned icy cold. It was an odd contrast, but one that Nora had slowly grown used to over time. Which was saying something, since they had only showed up a few months ago at most. Was that a bad thing?

Whatever concerns filled her thoughts were quickly broken once again, this time by Cinder's words. More specifically... the fact that they were no longer laced by pure anger. Nora threw a curious glance to the woman, only to find her wearing a chilling smile, her eyes staring at the green-suited man on the Valkyrie's other shoulder. "And what do you mean you were unaware? Surely, you know about my role in the incident. Unless, of course, the great headmaster himself was outwitted by someone harbouring... Oh what did you call it again? Teenage angst?"

Wait, what did she say? Ozman was a headmaster? Headmaster of what? And what was this incident thing they were talking about? Confusion spread on Nora's face, both from the change of the angry woman's tone, as well as the information she was suggesting. Nora's head turned once again, shifting back to the apparently-headmaster in question.

"Outwitted? Hardly." If the white-haired shoulder-man was perturbed by his counterpart's words, he didn't show it, simply drinking from her thermos as he settled his gaze back towards Cinder. "Though, if you truly are taking credit for the 'incident', as you call it, then I must say I'm surprised. After all, what you orchestrated was simply a minor setback, and one that was promptly settled by the appropriate authorities that you enjoy disliking."

Did she say her shoulder was heated? Because Nora would like to change her statement.

The air that surrounded her shoulder was absolutely chilling.

"What did you say?" Cinder's voice rang out once more, equal parts venomous and incredulous as she almost snarled at the man. Nora visibly flinched at the change in tone, her head backing away slightly from her occupied shoulder as she tried to keep her gaze away from the tiny woman. "A minor setback? _A minor setback_? You're calling the events that occurred during the Vytal Festival _a minor setback?_ You are either a fool... or a monster."

And because Nora's attention was settled on Ozpin instead of Cinder, she was the first to see the look of confusion flash on the man's face. However, just as quickly as it appeared, the expression vanished entirely, replaced by... something else entirely. Concern? Curiosity? Nora sent the man a questioning look, only to receive an equally inquisitive one in return, as Ozpin raised a single tiny eyebrow at her.

"As much as I'd appreciate the opportunity to sort out our little misunderstanding, I believe we must save this discussion for later." Ozpin's voice was level, decidedly neutral as he turned towards his female counterpart. "After all, I do believe Miss Valkyrie has something she must attend to."

Wait, what did he mean by that?

Nora blinked for a few moments, before finally taking note of her surroundings. Specifically... two people who stood out in her surroundings.

"..lo? You there?" A female voice rang out, finally snapping Nora out of her daze. The Valkyrie's cheeks immediately flushed with embarrassment, as she finally remembered where she was. Slowly, she turned her gaze towards the source of the sound, only to find herself face-to-face with two teenage girls, concern on their face as they stared back at her. "Hey, you finally with us now?"

"O-oh! Ha ha! Sorry about that!" Nora quickly shifted her posture, bolting upright to a rigid stance as she tried to play off what she had expected to be a very confusing expression. Just how much attention was she gathering? What did she even look like? Nora's mind raced, realizing how odd she must've looked, staring at her shoulders in worry and confusion and all that other stuff. How could she explain _that_?

Well, she had one excuse. Hopefully it works... Giving out an embarrassed cough, Nora settled her gaze to the floor, before shifting her attention back up to the two girls. "Sorry if you two saw something weird. I was just... You know! Worried about school and all that!" She wasn't too sure if she sounded convincing, given how much she rushed her words in the end. Genuine desperation clung to her face as she stared at the two, her eyes shifting between the blonde with long hair, and the smaller girl with the red dress and hood.

"Hey, no biggie!" The blonde woman shot a grin at her in response. A sigh of relief escaped Nora's lips, her shoulders slacking as she heard the other teenager's words. Rather than question her, it seemed that the other woman understood her position, as she gently jabbed her elbow against the girl in the red dress. "We all know how that feels. Right Rubes?"

"Gah! Yang! Don't do that!" The girl in question gave a cry of surprise, pulling away from the sudden elbow before glaring up at the blonde teenager. Not that there was any malice in that glare, as she quickly gave the woman a playful shove. And when the woman named Yang failed to budge, the red girl crossed her arms instead, settling for a pout as she puffed her cheeks up in a childish huff. It almost reminded Nora of how she acted whenever Ren told her not to use Magnhild for her chores, though Ren was less... teasing? About it.

"Don't do what?" A coy smile was all the blonde teenager gave in return, smiling innocently at the smaller girl, before turning her attention back towards Nora. "And don't worry about looking weird or anything. We're all nervous and stuff, and you're not even the worst I've seen today. By the way, I'm Yang. Nice to meetcha!"

Nora's mood immediately relaxed. For the Valkyrie, meeting people for the first time was a much easier task than attempting to explain why she had been acting crazy. So, when Yang stretched out her hand, Nora gladly took it, shaking it with renewed enthusiasm.

"Nice to meet you, Yang! I'm Nora!"

Was that too bubbly? Nora wasn't quite sure whether the sudden change from her previous worried-ness to suddenly being outspoken was good or bad, but since neither Yang nor the other girl seemed to mind... Well, no sense in worrying about that. Instead, she turned to face the other girl. "And nice to meet you too... err... Yang's friend?"

"A-actually, I'm her sister." The girl in red seemed to shuffle in place for a moment, taking in a deep breath as her face shifted between concern, worry, and eventual determination. It took a few moments, but she soon turned her gaze up to face Nora fully, her silver eyes staring into the Valkyrie's, as she stretched out her hand to greet her. "I'm Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you."

Of course, Nora took her hand too, giving the girl the same energetic shake she had given her sister. "Nice to meet you, Ruby!"

And with the introductions out of the way, the awkward air around the three prospective students of Beacon disappeared.

* * *

"Really, Ruby? Really? _That's_ your icebreaker?"

Nora wasn't the best at reading people, but even she could tell that Yang sounded exhausted. Not that she understood why, since she seemed okay until Ruby asked her question. Unless there was a problem with the question? No, that can't be right. After all, they were all going to be huntresses at Beacon, so questions like 'What sort of weapon do you use?' and 'Hey, is that a high-explosive custom-built dust canister?' were normal, weren't they? So what was Yang upset about?

"What's wrong with it?" Ruby asked the question that had been lingering in Nora's mind, the red-hooded girl giving her older sister a childish pout as she crossed her arms. "It's a question about interests, isn't? You said that I was supposed to ask those kinds of things!"

Another sigh escaped Yang's lips, the long-haired teenager shaking her head as she turned to face her sister proper. "Yeah, but... weapons? I was expecting you to ask about hobbies or something. You know, books or movies? That sort of thing?"

"Weapons can be a hobby too!"

Can they? That was something to wonder about. Nora contemplated the statement for just a moment, trying not to listen in too much to the siblings' argument thingy as she thought about it. After all, maintaining and upgrading Magnhild usually took up a lot of time, but she still enjoyed it. Does that make it a hobby? It wasn't quite the same as Ren's book reading or meditation thingies, though.

She should probably ask Ren about it sometime. For now, however, she turned her attention back to the two sisters, trying to get their attention.

"Boop! Boop!" Nora's voice rose, then fell as she gave each of the sisters a quick poke on the shoulder. Her actions were enough to draw Yang and Ruby away from their argument, as both of them sent the Valkyrie a curious glance. "If you two want to see Magnhild, all you have to do is ask! And since Ruby asked about it... Boop!"

The third boop was not a poke, but rather, the sudden withdrawal of her weapon. In one quick motion, Nora unfastened Magnhild from her back, pulling out the mecha-shifted warhammer as she gave it a quick flick, shifting it to its grenade launcher form. "Ta-da!"

"Wow, that's so cool! Can I see it?" Ruby was the first to react, her attention immediately turning to the weapon, barely able to stay her hands as she drew closer. "I promise I'll be careful!"

"Sure!"

Without a second care, Nora shoved the weapon into the hooded girl's hands, a smiling plastered on her face as she watched Ruby's reaction. Should she ask to see Ruby's weapon in return? Or Yangs? Ooh, maybe her weapon was those thingies she wore on her wrist! Still, she should probably ask that later, once they were done looking over Magnhild.

For now, Nora gave a cheerful hum, her attention turning away from the two sisters as she finally noticed the view beyond the airship. It was... big. Really big. Maybe she just wasn't paying attention before, but for the first time since she got onto the ferry, Nora felt the magnitude of her actions. Of the choices that she and Ren had made.

They were really going to go to Beacon. After all they've done, all they've worked for, they would finally get a chance to help the world, the best way they could. A slight smile slowly began to form on the Valkyrie's face.

"Ahem. Miss Valkyrie?"

And then it disappeared, her wistful expression changing to one of confusion as she turned towards the source of the voice. There, seated on a curiously designed chair, hovering inches above her shoulder, was Ozpin. She wasn't quite sure why he had changed up his floaty thing again, since he seemed to enjoy using his cane before. Well, okay, she wondered less about that, and more about the conversation from earlier, but the orange-haired teenager couldn't exactly ask that at the moment.

So, instead, she tilted her head to the side, wondering what it was the green-garbed man wanted to say.

"I apologize if you've already considered this issue, but I find it prudent to ask..." There was a slight pause as the man took, a sip from his thermos, the smell of coffee filling the air, apparent only to Nora as the man put his drink aside. "Did you remember to unload your weapon before passing it to Miss Rose?"

The question of who 'Miss Rose' was lasted for only a second, as Nora's mind immediately processed the first part of the question. Her eyes widened, immediately turning away from the window of the airship, her arms outstretched as she settled her gaze Ruby. But, even before Nora could utter her warning, the red-hooded girl spoke out first, a noncommittal thought directed at no one as she brought her hand to the weapon.

"Ooh, what does this button do?"


	5. How Did We Not Get in Trouble for That?

**Chapter 5: How Did We Not Get in More Trouble for That?**

* * *

You know something? _That_ is a nice wall.

She was never really one to notice it before, but Nora Valkyrie was definitely a woman of high refinement, able to appreciate the art in all things. Whether it was stuff like delicious pancakes, in-depth weapon magazines or, in this case, an artisan wall, the orange-haired hammerwielder would always spend some time to gaze at the splendor that was craftsmanship.

Juuuust... ignore the fact that she knew nothing about stonework or architecture or stuff. You didn't _need_ to know those things to appreciate a good wall, right? Even she could see that the painted brick or stone or whatever it was was sturdy! At the very least, it could probably withstand a charging Ursa without a scratch! Really, this wall was certainly one of a kind, and that's why she kn-

"Nora."

... Why she knew that, the moment she had heard the tired voice of her best friend, that no wall in the world could save her from what was coming next. Nora could already hear the disappointment mounting in her partner's voice, no doubt ready to pick away at her conscience, to scold her for messing up so badly. And she knew she had messed up; Didn't she say she'd keep out of trouble so that Ren could rest? That she'd be quiet and just wander the airship so that trouble wouldn't find her?

Instead, she had done the exact opposite of that. Not only had she started the day off by making them late for their first transport ship, she had caused a massive incident to occur that completely delayed the second airship they had gotten on. If, you know, 'delayed' meant forcing the entire thing down to the Academy at record speed, completely throwing away the cruise atmosphere for an adrenaline-filled panic. She didn't even know how many students and visitors had been injured in the whole thing.

But even if she didn't know how _many_ she had hurt, Nora was well aware that she had hurt a lot of people. Even now, she could remember the screams, shrill and alarmed as they shot through the airship. The cries of confusion, the blaring of alarms, all spiraling deeper into the mess that she had caused.

They're be lucky if they were simply rejected from the school.

Fear gripped the teenager's heart, her face growing pale as she realized the ramifications of her actions. And more importantly, what would happen to Ren? Would he be tried as a criminal, just because he was a friend of-

"Nora..."

It was Ren's voice again. Far softer this time, which Nora couldn't understand. Wasn't he worried about this, too? How did he hide it? Or did he just push away his own concerns because she was here, panicking and being a useless burden? Why did he-

"I know you're worried right now... But please, calm down..."

His tone was gentle, in stark contrast to the whirlwind of thoughts that had filled her mind. More than that, however, she felt his hand fall onto her shoulder, acting as an anchor for her emotions and worries. Slowly, her attention turned away from the prospect of potential future punishment, letting her drift back to the present. To where they were now. And as the energetic warrior finally began to settle her mind, as she slowly calmed her breathing down enough to actually feel the air fill her lungs, one thought came to the Valkyrie's mind.

... She wasn't wrong. That was a nice wall.

"Are you feeling okay now, Nora?" The voice of her childhood friend was enough to push the rest of her panic away, washing over her senses with a familiar tone. She... was. Nora gave a slow nod to her partner, not quite trusting herself to speak yet. Still, she was well enough, and quickly nodded once more to Ren as she sat up in her chair.

"Good... Now, just remember. When they ask you what happened, tell them the truth." Yeah... That was probably for the best. She knew more than anyone else that people were responsible for their own actions. She'd have to- "Tell them that it was just an accident."

"Wait, what?" Nora was definitely lost now, and the momentary pause she gave showed that fact. How exactly was it an accident? It was obvious that everything that had occurred was all her fault, and the entire airship ferry had suffered for it. So, knowing all of that, if she still said that it was just an accident, then... "Wouldn't that be lying?"

"What do you mean, lying?" Her partner's voice was thoughtful, the words coming slowly as he gave her a curious glance. Why was he acting all confused about it? Ren's smart enough to know what she meant.

"I mean, I caused everything, and now everyone's hurt or worse because of me."

It was true. Whatever mood she had before was quickly replaced by self-loathing. She had hurt people, and no amount of awesome Ren therapy could change that. At least... That's what she thought. But from the way Ren's face had changed, from his curious concern to a look of pure surprise... Was she wrong?

"...Hurt? What do you mean?"

"I mean, I caused the explosion! The alarms! All the screaming and panicking and yelling were all my fault!" Her words shot out faster than she could react, spilling forth her worry "I already messed up our morning, and now I just end up causing more troubles for everyone. A-and, if everything that happened on the deck wasn't enough, what happened to the guards were also my fa-"

A voice interrupted her. A very real voice, one that carried itself through the air. Whatever it was Nora had intended to say quickly fell to the wayside, her eyes wide as she slowly turned towards the source.

"You need not worry about that. This entire incident was an accident, and what happened to the staff was an unfortunate case of miscommunication." The voice belonged to an older man, wizened and filled with experience. And at the same time, the man's tone was also one that was far more vibrant than his age or position would suggest, carrying equal parts wisdom and mirth as he stared at Nora with a bemused expression. "And you have my assurance that all parties involved, from Miss Xiao Long to the staff aboard the airship, have been adequately lectured on proper conduct."

Nora sat in stunned silence. How could she do anything but? After all, the person who had interrupted her was someone she recognized; someone who had, alongside another shoulder-sized person, changed her life forever.

Standing by the door, leaning against the wooden frame with a curious expression and a telltale mug of coffee, was a decidedly _not_ shoulder-sized man.

"... Ozman?"

* * *

"Pardon me?"

The extra-tall Ozpin look-alike returned Nora's question with a look of surprise, not at all expecting her to say _that_ of all things. And she couldn't blame him, either. Most people in her position would've probably asked who the coffee man was, or would've thanked him profusely for saying that she wasn't in trouble. But she had to go and confuse him for the person who always seemed to hang out on her shoulder, starting fights with the fire lady or leaving a coffee-stained mess everywhere.

Nora immediately backpedaled, taking back her words as she tried to clear up the confusion.

"Oh! Uh, nothing! I-it's just that you reminded me of a friend so I guess I got confused or something!" It technically wasn't a lie, since the new person did remind her of Ozzers, and this entire situation _had_ confused the little Valkyrie. Still, it was hard for her to feel confident about her own answer, when her eyes kept shifting between the green-suited man and the wall behind him. "So yeah! Sorry about that!"

Rather than call her out for her obvious nervousness, the man had decided to ignore it. From what she could tell, he was currently deep in thought, idly drinking at his cup of whatever as he tried to react to her words. Something that... she expected Ozpin to do, really. He was even doing the upright sitting thing and the thing where he swirled his mug after every sip.

"Is that so? I remind you of a friend of yours? How intriguing." He gave a slight pause, his eyes falling on her, tilting his glasses downwards as the man considered Nora's words. "And you said his name was... Osmond, was it?"

The man's eyes fell on her, and Nora couldn't help but turn away, not entirely sure of how she was supposed to respond. Telling Ren about the shoulder people was one thing, but this was a complete stranger that she didn't recognize. Well, didn't recognize apart from the fact that he looked like Ozpin. She should probably just be vague about everything, just to be on the safe side...

"Y-yeah, something like that. Silly me, right?" Nora gave the man an embarrassed smile, pushing her doubt aside as she tried to force herself back into her usual bubbly exterior. "Sorry about that! I mean, I guess I was confused and worried about everything that has happened, so when you said that it wasn't my fault, I guess I was extra-confused?"

She wasn't too sure whether he would accept her answer, but-

... Hold on. There was something else that had been bothering the Valkyrie. So rather than wait for his response, she immediately spoke up once more, renewed surprise plastered on her face.

"Waitaminute! Did you say that everything was an accident?" Her sudden outburst was enough to pull the not-Ozpin out from his thoughts, and Nora wasted no time staring at the man, concern and confusion heavy on her face. She was just happy that the man in question was far more calm than she was, as though he had been expecting her answer or something, ready to address and answer it.

On the other hand, 'You're saying it's not my fault?' is a pretty easy question to guess, considering how many times Ren had preemptively answered her whenever she tried to ask it. .

"Indeed I did. But you seem... against it." The man's expression fell as he leaned forward, setting his mug onto the desk before taking a seat beside her partner. Waitno, Ren had stood up already? Why was he standing to the side, all rigidly and- wait, that's for later. Mr. Not-Ozman's asking her questions. "Tell me... Why do you think otherwise?"

That question was easy to answer, and the words quickly came to her mind, her gaze shifting down to the table as she recounted her thoughts.

"W-well... It was my weapon that caused the explosion. So the whole alarm that set off was my fault."

Not-Ozpin gave out a lighthearted chuckle.  
 _  
That_ surprised her, both because of the fact that he had done so in response to her admission, but also because he sounded _exactly_ like Ozpin. Just... Who was he? Nora couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, confusion clear on her face as she stared at the man.

Noticing her gaze, the man quieted himself, leaning back into his seat as he settled himself down. The green-suited man reached for his mug, giving it a tentative sip, letting silence hang in the air for a few moments before finally speaking up.

"It's certainly heartening to see the youth of today taking responsibility for their actions." The man gave Nora a genuine smile, simply yet warm as he settled his hands down onto the surface of the desk . "Yet... While that's certainly one way to look at it, I myself am of the belief that your explosion of glitter and streamers was not what caused the incident."

"But how could you say that? It was enough to scare Yang! A-and that's why she-"

"Please, I'm not quite finished yet, Miss Valkyrie." Wait, how did he know her name? Unless he worked at the school or something, which made sense now that she thought about it. They probably had a look at her documents and stuff, since she was the one who had (maybe not) caused the incident. "Now, as I was saying... Rather than your harmless, if unexpected firework display, I believe the true cause of the accident was Miss Xiao Long's overreaction."

Nora was confused by this particular statement. She was the reason why Yang had shouted like that, and the orange-haired teenager was sure that her new friend had a good reason.

"But she didn't overreact, did she? I mean, Ruby was there, and maybe she was worried that her sister got hurt." That made sense, right? She knew that she and Ren were practically family, so she'd be all alarmed and worried if Ren had been caught in a sudden boomsplosion like that.

"You bring an interesting point... But, unfortunately, the security footage tells a different story." And with that, the man took out his Scroll, pressing a few symbols on the device before he turned its screen towards the Valkyrie.

She recognized it instantly, as it was a video of what had happened leading up to the whole kerfuffle. She didn't know that there was a Camera up there, though, but that thought was secondary as she watched the footage intently.

First, it showed Ruby examining Magnhild, checking the weapon from various angles as she looked over its general frame. The red-skirted teenager had checked for the weapon's safety, of course, and when she was satisfied that the item was safe, she began poking the weapon in earnest.

A small smile formed on her face as she watched her new friend explore her weapon. Honestly, it was nice to see someone as interested in Magnhild as she was; Sure, Ren looked over it from time to time as well, but he didn't appreciate it the same way she did. Which was just fine, really, since it was sorta like how she didn't appreciate his 'Energy drinks'. Ugh.

With that thought out of her mind, Nora turned back to the video. Now, it showed Ruby gushing over the dust chambers of the weapon. That too brought a smile to Nora's face, as she had spent a lot of time working and reworking Magnhild, each adjustment giving her inanimate companion a bit more personality. Now, the hammer barely resembled the weapon it had started off as, and Nora Valkyrie was proud of that fact.

But this video wasn't a weapon review.

Nora's thoughts immediately fell as she watched Ruby's attention pull away from the weapon itself, settling instead on that little under-slung attachment she had made. This was... probably about the time that Ozpin had reminded her of that thing. Honestly, she had forgotten about it entirely, what with how the day had started. If she remembered, she definitely would've told Ruby about the device, and how the sloth-shaped button—awesome it may be—had to be left alone.

She didn't do that, which was why the following few seconds consisted of the attachment activating, firing off a custom-built canister of loud noises and awesome sparkles. Fortunately, it didn't hurt anyone, and all that had really happened was the subsequent glitter-bomb.

Wait, was that all that had happened? She remembered Yang yelling a lot after that... But why wasn't she doing that in the video?

 _"Aack! Hey Rubes, you okay? What the heck was that?"_

Oh, so she wasn't yelling. Maybe Nora had misremembered the event. It had been a bit sudden, and the Party Bomb MK II she had made was probably a bit... loud. That's probably why she had thought she had heard Yang yell. Well, good thing this video's here to tell her she was wrong!

What Yang had actually done was return to Ruby. The footage even showed her picking through the smaller teen's hair, chatting with concern and worry, with heartfelt words that the camera could no longer pick up.

Nora smiled at that. They were certainly siblings, and the way they took care of eachother really reminded her of how Ren was whenever she got hurt. And it also reminded her of how she was when Ren was the one wh-  
 _  
"Oh Gods, what is this?! **It's stuck in my hair!** "_

The sudden shout snapped Nora from her thoughts. Even if it was through scroll recording, the voice that had snapped out was alarming enough for the Valkyrie to fall over, her face almost meeting the desk as she tried to collect herself.

So Yang _had_ yelled? Now she was confused... Why did she yell? They had found out they were safe, right?

But rather than provide her with answers, the Scroll merely continued, showing footage of Yang as she dashed out from the viewing area with blinding speed. Nora wasn't sure where she was going, but apparently, whoever set up the cameras was, as they kept switching from relevant machine to machine, trailing the blonde teenager as she made her way through the facility.

Even with all that, it didn't explain why the Airship had to come to an emergenc-... Wait, why are those staff people yelling at Yang now? And they're blocking her way?

"Yes... A curious action, wouldn't you say?"

The voice of not-Ozpin snapped Nora out from her thoughts. Her gaze turned away from the Scroll, settling back on the green-garbed man as she tilted her head to the side. Honestly, she had completely forgotten about his presence, but his words quickly reminded her that she wasn't alone.

Nora gave an awkward cough, before nodding at the man's question.

"Y-yeah. I mean, why did they try to stop her like that?"

"Well, from what they told us later, the Staff had thought that your noisemaker's detonation was actually a bomb." The man's voice was neutral, carrying no blame or judgement in its tone, but Nora still felt terrible. This thing _had_ been her fault after all, since it was her little creation that had caused the ruckus in the first place...

"So, rather than confirm the situation, the security officer in charge alerted the rest of the staff." This time, the Academy person's tone changed, carrying just a bit less patience in his voice as he stared at the scroll. "And since they were on alert, they were prepared for the wrong thing. So, what do you think happened when Miss Xiao Long suddenly appeared in the crew quarters, sprinting head first towards the staff that was stationed there?"

Nora didn't need to answer; the security footage was more than enough to told the story. With that new revelation, the Valkyrie let out a sigh, sinking into her seat as she stared at the wooden table top. This had been her fault, and it could've been avoided if she had just been paying attention. But before she could get into another bout of self-doubt, the man spoke up, his voice gentle as it pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Please, don't be too hard on yourself, Miss Valkyrie. It was the staff that had chosen poorly, and the staff who had made their mistakes. The subsequent brawl was as much their fault as it was Miss Xiao Long's... And I have already dealt with them."

The orange-haired hammerwielder was about to object the man's statement about fault and blame... But something else caught her attention. He had just said that he dealt with them.

Just who exactly was he?

Nora was now certain that this man was someone who worked at the school... But someone who could boss around the security? Especially security that went between Beacon and Vale?

"Uh... This may sound sort of weird, since we were just talking about the whole airship thing and all that... But..." She paused, her words halting as she tried to figure out how to word her question. Who was he? How did he boss around the security people? What school position thing was he at? Does he employ sloths t- No, Nora, not the time.

She finally settled on the simplest question, her gaze falling to the taller man. This might be a rude way to ask, but... She still needed to know. Or wanted to know? Who knows? Either way, the little Valkyrie cleared her through, turning her full attention to the man.

"... Who are you?"

"Oh? Is that all?" There was a bout of momentary surprise on the man's face, before a soft smile quickly took its place. The green-garbed man carefully set his coffee mug to the side, resting it on the table top as he turned to face Nora properly. The man stretched out a hand, offering it as greeting as he spoke out once more. "My apologies. I should've introduced myself."

Nora was about to take it, shake him back. However, a sudden bolt of surprise shot through her, causing the Valkyrie to stop in her tracks.

Why?

"My name is Professor Ozpin, and I am the headmaster here at Beacon Academy."

 _That's_ why.


	6. Wait, How Important Did You Say He Was?

**Chapter 6: Wait, How Important Did You Say He Was?**

* * *

"Professor... Ozpin?"

To say that Nora was confused would be an understatement. Kind of like how saying that she 'had conflicts with grimm', 'appreciated explosions', and 'would break the legs of anyone who hurts Ren' were all understatements as well.

Her mind was utterly lost. Just... who was this headmaster? Why did he share the exact same name as her shoulder-person? Why did he act the same, posture the same, and even talk the same as the green-suited coffee gremlin that had shown up in her life months ago? Nora resisted the urge to glance around the room, to try and pry out an explanation from the Ozman. The mini-Ozpin. The... Whatever.

Unfortunately, neither the tiny leprechaun or the red lady were anywhere to be seen, and Nora was left alone in the office room thingy, with the headmaster person sitting across from her.

"Yes. Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon." Normal-sized Ozpin repeated himself, his eyes fixed on Nora, a single brow arched in confusion as he watched Nora's reaction. "... It seems that, for once, my reputation does not precede me. Based on your reaction, I assume you haven't heard of me before?"

"N-nope!" Nora didn't mean to stutter out that word, but she was still slightly frazzled.

Sure, she had heard the name 'Ozpin' before, but that wasn't in the context of the Headmaster of Beacon. The only Ozpin she knew of enjoyed misplacing coffee everywhere, or being all smarty-smarmy! And he was also... what did Cindy call him? 'Unsufferably annoying'? Something like that. But yeah, none of those descriptions really seemed to apply when she thought about putting the name beside the title of 'Headmaster of the bestest huntsman school in Vale'.

Wait... Did Renny know about him? Maybe she should've told her friend after all. But she didn't want him to worry about her either, and it wasn't like the miniature people were doing anything particularly dangerous. All they did was comment on things, insulting things, or arguing with each other a lot. Really, they didn't do anything serious enough to be worth worrying Ren about. Really, now that Nora thought about it, she'd been doing just fine! In fact, Ozman even helped remind her of this latest incident, so she could say that they were helpful!

... What was she thinking about again?

"Miss Valkyrie...?" Ozpin's voice snapped Nora from her thoughts, her eyes wide with alarm as she turned back to face the older man. His gaze settled on her, strangely serious despite the whole confusion that she had just shown. "Is everything alright?"

"S-sorry about that!" The hammerwielder gave a light cough, trying to distract herself from her frazzled thoughts. She was still technically in a meeting with the Headmaster, after all. Why didn't she just pay attention? She had to come up with an excuse or... something. "I was just... uh... Thinking about my friend! Yeah!"

"Is that so?" The beacon headmaster gave her a neutral stare. At least, it looked neutral. However, she had known from spending time with mini-Ozpin that that look was anything but. If normal-Ozpin was anything like mini-Ozpin, then that meant he was thinking about some sort of ominous plot thing that involved cupcakes, pancakes, and Cinder's fancy dress supply.

Okay, maybe he might not have been exactly like mini-Ozpin. Still, it was a plotting face, and if he was plotting a prank or something... Well, Nora knew how to deal with those! Just pretend to not know it's coming, then throw a sloth plush at it when it finishes! So, Nora chose to stay quiet, giving the headmaster a nod. "Yep!"

"Are you talking about your friend named... 'Osmond'? The one whom you said I remind you of?"

Ozpin's thinking face deepened, and Nora felt a weight leave her shoulders. If the headmaster was planning on pranking mini-Ozpin, then she didn't need to worry about it. After all, the coffee gremlin already owes her enough as it is! And not just an explanation! She _still_ hasn't gotten back at him for last month's strawberry incident.

"Yep!" So, no longer seeing a need for subterfuge, the Valkyrie nodded.

And then she immediately remembered that the headmaster _couldn't_ prank him, because of how Ozman was a shoulder-person. Or, well, because he was someone that no one else could see or interact with, because he was a really weird... Semblance? Curse? Magical hallucination that actually wasn't a hallucination? Something! Either way, Nora quickly realized that the Headmaster probably wasn't asking with intent to prank the mini-green-man. So ...why?

Better to just ask! She quickly turned her attention back to the Headmaster, a curious look on her face as she tilted her head to the side.

"But, uh... Why do you want to know?"

"Well..." Ozpin's expression was thoughtful for a moment, before slowly shifting to a more friendly tone as the headmaster leaned backward in his seat. "I suppose I'm just curious. After all, wouldn't you be curious if you suddenly hear of a person who has a similar mannerism and name to yourself?"

Nora thought on that point for a moment. Sure, she may not be the same type of deep thinker-er person that Ozpin seemed to be, but she could see his point of view... After all, if she suddenly heard of another hammer-wielder who loved pancakes and had a name like 'Nova', she'd love to make friends with them! Ooh! Or if Ren found another super-quiet meditative martial artist named Len! That'd be so cool!

So yeah! Without another moment of hesitation, Nora nodded back at the headmaster, a cheerful smile on her face. Of course she understood!

"Is that so?" Huh? Why did he sound so confused by her agreement? He had a good point! So why was the headmaster person looking at her with that odd look in his eye? You know, the same one that Ozman gets whenever she starts talking about the fairy tales that Ren reads her? "If that's the case, would you mind introducing us some time?"

That caused her mind to halt. Of _course_ he'd want that. The little Valkyrie frowned, a worried look forming on her face as she turned her gaze to the table. She was stuck... It wasn't like she could help the headmaster out. First of all, no one could even see her two shoulder-friends, which was a problem in and of itself. Then there's the fact that mini-Ozpin doesn't seem to want to meet big-Ozpin, since he _still_ hasn't showed up yet.

And that's not even considering the fact that he was a jerk, and acted all smug and aloof and bluh all the time!

"Ahem..."

Her face must've been broadcasting her thoughts and emotions, because Nora's line of thought was suddenly interrupted by the headmaster clearing his throat. Her eyes quickly shot back up to the older man, confusion and worry on her face as she stared at him.

"On second thought, forget I asked. I can see that the issue is not as simple as I had initially believed, and I'd rather not introduce trouble to a prospective student so early in the year. After all, the opening ceremony hasn't even started yet."

At that, the headmaster rose to his feet, one hand gripping his mug as he turned his attention away from the Valkyrie. His Scroll buzzed in his other hand, demanding the older man's focus as he fixed his gaze to the small device. After a few short moments, a silent chuckle, and a few light taps, Ozpin finally shifted his gaze back to the hammer-wielder.

"Speaking of... It seems that the assembly will be delayed for a bit, or so my associate tells me." Nora's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Well, okay, they didn't, because she wasn't as great at the gesture as Cinder was, but she still wanted to try! After all, Ozpin was now acting the same way mini-Ozpin did whenever he tried to act innocent.

"Associate?" Was this a partner in crime or something? Or, if not crime, then... whatever the headmaster equivalent of it is? Before her imagination could take hold, however, the Headmaster answered her question, giving her a brief nod as he did so.

"Indeed. Glynda Goodwitch, one of the combat instructors here at beacon, and one of the most skilled Huntresses I know." From the way he said the name, it was clear that the Headmaster and the teacher were good friends. Or, at least, he had great respect for her? Nora wasn't too sure, but it definitely reminded her of the way mini-Oz had said it. "She's in charge of managing the Assembly for first-years. Unfortunately, an important speaker has yet to arrive, and his tardiness has forced her to push the Assembly back until noon."

Her eyes stopped narrowing. In fact, they were now doing the opposite, realization hitting the young warrior as Nora's eyes widened.

"Wait, you were supposed to be speaking?! I'm sorry!" The girl immediately bowed her head. Did her entire incident thing really delay school for everyone? She didn't realize that she had messed up _that_ badly... Even if he said she didn't. But she did. Didn't she? Well, regardless, she didn't have time to worry about it, because she had messed up again. "N-next time, I promis th-"

"Please, don't worry about it Miss Valkyrie." The headmaster's voice cut her off, his tone in stark contrast to the stressful stuttering that she had tried to spew out. "It gives me more time to prepare something eloquent. And I must admit, my mind has been on other things as of late. Your little incident helped me... 'put things into perspective', you might say."

The man's voice was softer now, and Nora slowly turned her gaze up from the table, to find the headmaster with a different sort of expression on his face. It was less of an interrogator—was that what he had been doing this entire time?—and more of a concerned teacher. "For now, I recommend you and your friends get yourselves acquainted with the school grounds. And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask the staff."

"O-okay...?"

"Good. I suppose I'll see you at the assembly, then. Stay out of trouble, Miss Valkyrie." And with that, the Beacon headmaster left the room.

* * *

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Ren was the first to speak as they left the room. She had forgotten that he had been standing in the corner of the room, acting all ninja-y while she had her little conversation with the headmaster. But now that they were out in the hall, standing in the corridors of Beacon, she realized that Ren been watching when she had fumbled around her words.

Was it any wonder that she immediately found the flooring so interesting, then? Her cheeks with flush with embarrassment, as each panicked moment of her discussion with Ozpin replayed in her mind. At least, they would've been, if it weren't for the fact that she suddenly felt something press against her shoulder. At first, Nora had thought that it was Ren trying to reassure her, to dispel her of her worries.

So imagine her surprise when she saw, instead of Ren's hand on her shoulder, a certain little coffee-gremlin, standing all smug as he sipped at his coffee mug. All while wearing some terribly bushy and completely-fake mustache with a straight face. Honestly, Nora went straight from frustrated to exhausted, unable to muster a single complaint as the miniature Ozpin gave her a curious look. At least he made sure that the ridiculous mustache matched his hair colour?

...Gragh!

Before she could voice her frustration, however, Nora felt something press against her shoulder again. This time, it _was_ Ren's hand, and he wore a concerned look on his face, staring straight at her with his pink ey- Sorry, _magenta_ eyes. Of course, the correction was automatic; Ren didn't admonish her, and her current thoughts were less about his eye colour, and more about the fact that he looked really worried.

"Nora?"

"Y-yeah! It wasn't bad at all!" Her expression instantly switched to all smiles. She couldn't imagine what Ren had been thinking about; After all, she had gone from relieved to depressed to embarrassed to upset in less than a few seconds. "Don't worry about it, Renny! Just had something on my mind!"

"If you say so..."

There was still some doubt in Ren's voice, but the chipper Valkyrie tried to brush it off, her hands casually waving in the air as she gave a confident nod. Ren seemed to accept this as an answer, finally releasing a tired sigh. Hopefully, now that he no longer had anything to worry about, Ren could get some rest an-

"There's still one thing I have to ask, though..." Hmm? What did he need to know? Nora gave her friend a curious look, her eyes wide with curiosity as she tilted her head. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed the little Ozman doing the exact same thing, completely unrepentant as he joked around. Like a small clown with silly hair, silly drinks, and silly mustaches. Still, rather than pay attention to that, Nora kept herself focused on Ren.

"What is it, Renny?"

"Who's Osmond?" Nora froze. More importantly, Ren had noticed that she froze. And that meant that she had no way of worming out of this little discussion.

Did... did she really want to? It's true that she wanted to keep all of this from Ren, but that's because she didn't want to worry him. But now that he had an inkling of it, wouldn't it just be better to let him know? After all, she trusted him completely, and if Renny knew more about who her shoulder-advisers were, then he'd probably understand her random antics more. Like the _strawberry incident._

She threw a glare to the mini-Ozpin again, before turning her gaze back to Ren. If she was on the fence before, the worried look on his face would've changed that. She could see concern on the martial artist's face, his eyes staring back at her, eyebrows raised in concern.

Yep, she's telling him.

"Well, Ozman's actually my..." Even though the halls were clear of people, Nora still felt the need to whisper and be covert about it, simply tilting her head to the side as she nodded towards her shoulder. "... Y'know?"

"You mean your..."

Ren's gaze fell on her shoulder, staring at the spot where the mini-Ozpin stood. Well, not exactly there, because she was still certain he still couldn't see him, and because the coffee-gremlin immediately poofed to her other shoulder. But still! Nora answered with a nod.

"And you say he reminds you of the headmaster?" Curiosity slowly mixed in with Ren's tone, a thoughtful expression growing on his face as he brought a hand up to his chin. He was probably trying to think of things that related to the headmaster, or maybe trying to imagine how the mini-Oz looked like?

Which meant that she should be more clear about it! Leaning in beside him, Nora whispered into his ear, her voice barely audible as she clarified the issue.

"Not 'reminds'. He looks exactly like him... He even says he's Ozpin. He acts, talks, and drinks coffee the same way he does. He even gives information-y stuff about the school! Though... He's wrong sometimes." Her thoughts returned to their little incident this morning. After all, Ozman _did_ remember when the ferries were leaving, right? Even if he was wrong about _where_ they'd be, he still sorta knew about it. "But other times, he isn't. He even knew about Glynda's name on the airship before she introduced herself."

That particular point seemed to worry Ren. The moment Nora had mentioned it, she noticed her friend's tone changing, going from concerned into full thinking-mode, his eyes almost squinting as he stared at the wall. He got like this from time to time, and it was always super-important when he did, so Nora knew not to distract him.

"Hey you two!"

So that's why someone else decided to do it. As soon as Ren fell silent, an explosive voice echoed through the halls, as a certain blonde teenager zipped in from nowhere, her arm wrapping around Nora's shoulder. A faint poof told the Valkyrie that her usual tenant had relocated, and the slight pressure on her head informed her _where_ the coffee gremlin had decided to take up residence.

Not that that mattered. She had friend to greet! Nora immediately turned to face the blonde, flashing a beaming smile as she spotted both the long-haired teen and her red-skirted sister. "Hey Yang! Hey Ruby!"

"Hey Nora! Hello... U-uhm..." Ruby immediately returned her greeting, but seemed a bit more hesitant when she turned towards Ren. That much was understandable, since Nora was sure that the two hadn't actually met yet. So the only thing to do was to fix that!

"This is Renny! We've been best friends for a long time!" Nora's arms splayed widely into the air as she presented him, kind of like those silly commercial people to billboards. Except Ren wasn't a billboard, so it wasn't like that at all. "Ren, meet Ruby!"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lie Ren." He gave a polite nod, extending his hand to greet the two siblings.

Nora beamed, grinning with delight as she watched her friends become friends! As odd as that statement may be. Still, it applied, and-

"... She has silver eyes?" And Ozman ruined it by saying something weirdly cryptic.

Didn't he notice earlier? Though... He hadn't poofed in until afterwards, when she had given Magnhild to Ruby, so maybe he didn't see it during her introduction. The introduction that he didn't see at all. And yet, he somehow still knew Ruby's last like that, her mood fell, switching to one of confusion as she stared upwards. Of course, since the mini-Ozpin was standing atop her head, she couldn't actually see him, but Nora performed the gesture all the same. She had a _lot_ of things to ask him, least of which this silly thing.

"What do you mean 'she has silver eyes'?"

"Hmm? What about silver eyes?"

Unfortunately, Nora had forgotten that her friends were still here, and their little conversation came to a halt the moment she uttered that mysterious question. Thankfully, it seemed like they only heard part of it, as all three of the teenagers stared at her with confusion.

She still had to address their confusion, of course... And it had to do with eyes. So, without further ado, she made up a reason on the spot.

"Oh! I was just thinking how cool it must be to have silver eyes!" It wasn't a complete lie either, since she had seen a few awesome comics and shows where people had fancy looking eyes, and she really did find them interesting. "I mean, mine's a boring green. You have cool silver ones, your sister has pretty purple ones, and Ren's is awesome pink!"

"Magenta." Ren easily matched her pace.

"Yeah, that! So I was thinking how cool it must be to have silver eyes!" Nora smiled, fully immersed in her reasoning. And it seemed that everyone else was invested in it too, as Yang gave a hearty chuckle, while Ruby wore an embarrassed smile, accompanied by a light blush. Even Ren wore a soft smile, the corner of his lips curling upwards. So yeah! Mission accomplished!

"Sorry if I sounded weird."

"N-No, it's okay." Ruby was the first to speak up, clearing her throat as she stared back towards the Valkyrie. "I was just surprised, since Ozpin asked about them too, back when he introduced himself."

"Wait... Really?" That was unexpected. Nora couldn't help but give the little red girl a curious glance when she heard that. Ozpin mentioned the eye thing too? If so, then maybe this little Ozpin was more related to normal-sized Ozpin than she thought. The Valkyrie made a mental note to question the silly leprechaun later, when they had more time to themselves.

"Yeah! It was weird, but... He helped me get into Beacon. And he had cookies, so that was cool!" Ruby's chipper voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and Nora settled her attention back to her friends.

Yes, her friends.

She'd worry about Ozman's mysterious mysteriousness later... For now, they had an hour to waste before they had to go to the assembly. As curious as she might've been about her shoulder-headmaster's everything, Nora Valkyrie had something more important that filled her mind.

After all, for the first time in ages, she and Ren had more people to call friends.


	7. How Much Do They Know? Don't Know?

**Chapter 7: How Much Do They Know? How Much Do They Not Know?**

* * *

"And that's how we defeated Shadowclaw the Dreaded, Bane of Everblue Port!"

Nora had a wide grin on her face as she finished her latest story, giving a final flourish with her arm as she turned her gaze back to her friends. Her head held high, the hammerwielder's smile grew brighter as she saw how engrossed Ruby was in her tale, feeling no small amount of pride as she recounted the latest adventure she and Ren had had.

Oh, not for no reason, mind you! Nora was definitely proud of everything they'd done, but she'd never brag about it. She knew all about the humble-ness and stuff, and had run into her own fair share of jerks who kept flaunting things. The only reason she was telling this story in the first place was because they were currently trading stories, and Ren wouldn't let her mention the one with the killer flower thing.

"With the deathstalker defeated and our bounty claimed, our entry to Beacon was all but assured!" The Valkyrie gave a bow, her extravagant voice finally falling to an end as she smiled at her audience.

"Wow..." Her younger friend stood awestruck, and the orange-haired teenager could almost see stars in Ruby's eyes as she took in the story. Maybe it was how she had told it, but from the moment Nora had first started, she saw that the girl-in-red had become completely engrossed in her story. Which was why she had worked hard to make sure she had told the story as awesomely as possible!

"...Did that really happen?" Unlike her sister, Yang was a bit more skeptical of the story, and quickly spoke up after Nora had finished. She wasn't sure why Yang was so skeptical, though; She had told the story properly! From all the characters, to the events and all the flashy action scenes... Even the sound effects! She did everything perfectly, didn't she? Part of her was about to protest, but the young Valkyrie stopped herself when she realized that Yang had asked the question to her partner. Almost immediately, Nora flashed a puppy-dog look towards Ren.

"Not quite."

The puppy was now on the verge of tears.

"What do you mean?"

It seemed that both Yang and Ren were immune to puppy-Noras, as they continued their conversation without paying her any mind. Yang, she could understand, since Nora didn't know whether the blonde punchy-person actually liked puppies... But Ren? The only time he'd ignore it is if she actually- wait. Did she tell the story wrong? Oh no! What if she messed up?

As if to answer her internal worries, Ren cleared his throat. There was no doubt about it anymore: she had messed up somehow. Still, it had happened last week, so she couldn't have been _that_ wrong about it, right? "We were in a town called Everbloom Post, not Everblue Port... And we didn't fight anything called 'Shadowclaw the Dreaded', either. It was just a normal grimm incursion that we were helping out with while on our way to Vale."

Oops. Nora couldn't help but let out an embarrassed chuckle as Ren corrected her story. In her defense, she wasn't paying too much attention to the town's name, and she was that far off, right? Not to mention that Shadowclaw the Dreaded was a much better name than generic grimm monster! Still, she ultimately deflated when she felt her friends' gaze fall on her, silver and lilac eyes boring into her.

"Wait a minute..." A sort of realization flashed on Yang's face as she shifted her attention between the hammerwielder and the green-robed man. From the corner of her eyes, Nora could see the confusion and disbelief slowly rise up on the others' face, as both siblings stared at back at her. "Does that mean that she didn't actually subdue a Deathstalker with a wheelbarrow and two pieces fence posts?"

"Oh, that part still happened." Ren answered without missing a beat, his tone neutral as he nodded back towards the two sisters. "The Deathstalker just didn't have a name."

"Wow..." Once more, Ruby's voice echoed out, filled with wonder as she stared at Nora. Not only that, the red girl's gaze was coupled with her sister's approving stare this time, Yang shot a grin at the Valkyrie. Even Ren flashed her an encouraging smile! To say that she was proud of herself would be a-

"Tch. _This_ is what you've been wasting your time with?"

A familiar female voice caused the pink lady to stop, her thoughts of pride immediately interrupted as a tiny little woman settled herself down on Nora's shoulders. It took all of her willpower not to yelp in surprise at her shoulder-associate's sudden entrance, the Valkyrie's eyes flashed to her side for a single instant. Well, okay, it was more of her entire head than just her eyes.

Which, of course, was a mistake, since the rest of her friends noticed immediately.

"Err... Everything okay there, Nora?" Yang was the first to voice her concern, the brawler's words echoing out the moment she had twitched. Fortunately, Nora knew exactly what to say! Their day had been fairly busy, so she could just blame it on not having had lunch or somethi-

"Tsk tsk." Another interruption, this time from her second shoulder associate as he stood on her other shoulder. Fortunately for her, Nora had more control of herself this time, and suppressed her urge to turn to the grey-haired newcomer. "I'm honestly surprised, Miss Fall. As I recall, we both agreed not to interrupt Miss Valkyrie while she's conducting her social responsibilities here at Beacon. At least in front of Miss Rose."

Nora's eyes widened at that little admission, her thoughts instantly shifting to her two shoulder advisers. When had they agreed to that? It'd hardly been three hours since she met Ruby Rose, and the Valkyrie hadn't heard of any agreement between the two during that time. Then again, she had spent a fair amount of time being interrogated, and she knew that the two were still capable of doing things outside of her vision. Still, why Ruby?

"Uh... Nora? Are you okay?" The girl in question spoke out this time, breaking the hammerwielder from her thoughts as Ruby's concerned voice followed her sister's.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just-"

"Really, Ozpin?" Cinder's voice erupted the moment Nora tried to respond, and since the shoulder lady was definitely more apt at talking over people, Nora found herself at a loss for words. "I know that that slip-up wasn't an accident. Don't you have the most to lose by admitting that little detail? Unless..."

Most to lose? What did that mean? Once more, the Valkyrie's eyes widened. Or were they already widened, and she just made it worse? She honestly didn't know! Why did they have to pop up now, when she was finally having fun with her friends?

"I think Nora's just exhausted." Ren, ever the smart one, quickly turned her friends' attention away from her. The Valkyrie quickly followed his lead, letting out a yawn that was more natural than she expected. "She was quite excited about joining Beacon today, and I don't think she managed to get enough sleep last night."

"Mmhmm!" The hammerwielder followed up to Ren's little excuse, nodding at his words as she added more to the ... well, technically, it wasn't really a lie. She didn't get enough sleep last night. "And I think I kept Ren up too late as well! Or woke him up early?"

"Kept you up late, huh? Is there something going on between you two?" A sly smile formed on a certain blonde's face, immediately catching that particular tidbit of information as the blonde brawler turned to face Ren. "Now that I think about it, you two _are_ pretty close."

"Yaaang! It's not nice to tease people like that!" Poor Ren.

Normally, Nora would've pulled out her usual 'together, but not together-together' explanation, since she and Ren were simply best friends, and definitely weren't in any way romantically together or anything like that! However, today wasn't normal, and this little moment of today was even more not-normal, as her two shoulder advisers began arguing about something very very suspicious.

So was it really her fault that, rather than listen to her best friend's sudden pleas for help, Nora paid more attention to the shoulder-Ozpin and shoulder-Cinder? It was a shame that she had already missed the first part of their argument/conversation thing.

"...don't know what you are implying. I am merely stating that it is our responsibility not to interfere too much with Miss Valkyrie's time here in Beacon." As always, Mini-Ozpin's voice was as calm as can be.

"A likely story, Ozpin. You interrupted me on purpose, and we both know it. What's more, you did it in front of that precious little brat that you seem to favour." And to accentuate her words, Cinder tilted her head towards to Ruby. To say that this worried Nora would be putting it lightly; She was already unsure of how to view Ozpin, since he was always so deliberately obtuse. Then there's the whole issue of him having sharing the same name and image of the current headmaster of Beacon.

...Headmaster of Beacon. That's what she wanted to ask! And as much as she wanted to save it for later... Well, the moment with her friends was pretty much ruined now. And even if it wasn't, her attention's now completely focused on the two arguing on her shoulders. So really, it would be better if she got to the bottom of this now, rather than later.

"My personal views on the aspiring huntsmen and huntresses have no bearing on the fact that you acted out of-... Miss Valkyrie?" Whatever it was the green coffee addict had wanted to say was soon lost to silence, as he turned his attention to Nora. The very same Nora who was now repacking her stuff, and making deliberate motions to turn away from her friends. The silence lingered a moment longer as Cinder's attention also turned to the hammerwielder, their argument put on pause for a few short seconds before the tiny headmaster spoke once more. "What are you doing?"

Nora answered, more for the benefit of her friends than anything else, and her voice carried absolutely none of the worries she held in her mind as she turned to the group. "Hee-eey! I'm going to go take a break for a bit, okay? I'll see you all at the assembly thingy later!"

All it took was a collective nod from the rest of the group, and the Valkyrie was on her way.

* * *

"Okay Ozman, you've got some explaining to do!" The moment she had found an empty hallway, Nora turned her attention to the tiny man on her shoulder. From the corner of her eye, she saw Cinder smile, but chose to ignore it as she focused her attention back at the grey-haired shoulder person. "Why are you trying to hide so many things? And why are you being so secret-ominous-y about things?"

But the most important question? The one that really caused her to stop and question all of this? Well, she just _had_ to ask it. "...Why is the headmaster of Beacon a giant you?"

There was a moment of silence.

"...Ozpin?"

A moment that continued on without end, as the tiny Ozpin deliberately looked away from her. A pout immediately formed on Nora's face as she stared at the little man, but that didn't seem to both him in the slightest. And unfortunately, she couldn't just keep repeating the question, since she was still in the middle of the school. Sure, the halls were empty now, but knowing her luck, someone would wander by the moment she tried asking or something like that. She'd have to find somewhere more private or somet-

"What a surprise. The wise old man isn't willing to explain himself. As usual." Cinder's words broke Nora from her thoughts, the tiny woman giving a sarcastic scoff. The miniature lady wore a scowl on her face, glaring at the headmaster with more emotion than usual, before turning up to face the Valkyrie. And just as suddenly as it appeared, the venomous tone from earlier in Cinder's voice melted to a much friendlier tone, one that was filled with patience and acceptance. "Why don't you ask me instead? I might not know everything about the fool, but I do know a few of his dirty little secrets. Ones he'd prefer to keep _buried underground_."

That smile was a smile of patience and acceptance, right? So why did Nora feel a slight chill drift down her spine the moment Cinder spoke those words? Still... she wanted to know, and Ozpin wasn't going to say anything. Even now, all he was doing was shaking his head as he stared at the tiny woman. So yeah! She was going to get to the bottom of this! Turning her attention back to Cinder, the Valkyrie took in a deep breath, before asking the lady in red and gold.

"What can you tell me about Ozpin?"

"Hmmm... Why don't I _show you_ , instead?" There was a light chuckle in the woman's voice as she hummed, smiling back up at the orange-haired huntress-to-be. "It just so happens that I know of a special place that our favourite lying headmaster likes to keep out of sight. A certain place that hides a _very_ important thing."

"You are overstepping your bounds, Miss Fall." It seems that that was enough to get the tiny man to speak. Ozpin's voice pierced the room as he shot a glare to his female counterpart, before shifting his gaze back up to Nora. "Miss Valkyrie, I ask that you ignore her words for now. I promise that I shall inform you of all you need to know in time, but-"

"In time, Ozpin? That's certainly a laugh, coming from you. If you had your way, then _everyone_ would be left in the dark." Another empty chuckle erupted from Cinder's lips as she sneered at the man. "How perfect that would be for you. Always in control, with no one the wiser."

"And what about you, Miss Fall? I'm sure that _you_ of all people know the value in controlling information." This time, the tiny headmaster stood his ground, staring back at Cinder with a resolute stare. "Miss Valkyrie would not be the first impressionable mind you would've attempted to manipulate, nor do I suspect that she would be the last."

" _Manipulate?!_ " Her eyes flashed with anger, and a plume of flame flared out behind the woman as she shot a rigid finger at Ozpin. "You do _not_ get to accuse anyone of that. Not after what _you_ did to her. Not after what you did to all of _us_."

"Wh-"

"Stop it!" Whatever Ozpin was about to say was quickly drowned out by the voice of an upset Nora. As if reminding them of their shorter stature, Nora brought her hands up between the two, blocking the shoulder-people's view as she tried to do her best to separate them. Then, with her best Ren impression, the Valkyrie tried to calm the two down. "Just... Stop it. Please? You two aren't usually this bad."

Unfortunately, she was a terrible Ren, since neither Cinder nor Ozpin seemed to calm down.

"Stop it? You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what I knew!"

"What you know or think you know is irrelevant to the discussion. The problem is that Miss Valkyrie should _not_ do what you are suggesting."

"Think I know?! Just because you-"

This time, Nora brought her hands down on her shoulders, the sudden motion striking downwards to create a... relatively muted 'foomp' sound. Which was more comical than anything else; it seemed that angry slamming just didn't work on shoulders. Still, it was enough to interrupt them again, and Nora was definitely going to put a stop to their arguing _here_.

"Look! I don't even know what you two are arguing about at this point, talking about who knows or doesn't know what. All I know is that this is really gotten out of hand. Aren't you two friends? Can't you two just try to talk things out?"

Nora had been hopeful about her suggestion, but all it took was a single glance at Cinder to realize that she had made some sort of terrible mistake.

"We. Are not. Friends." The way the tiny woman spoke unnerved her, and Nora threw a worried glance at the other shoulder-person. When Ozpin did nothing to protest however, a slight frown appeared on Nora's face. A frown that was, for the most part, completely ignored. "And I'm telling you this right now. Ozpin here has no friends. Just pawns that he uses for his own purposes. All you need to do is to take one look at his dirty little secret and see for yourself."

"... His secret?" What else was she supposed to say? Nora was completely lost at this point, between the two fighting and the shouting and the fire.

"Miss Fall, do n-"

" **Yes.** The statue in the auditorium, the third one from the west wall hides an elevator down." Cinder's voice was serious as she spoke the information, completely talking over whatever it was Ozpin wanted to say. Yet, for some reason, the tiny headmaster immediately quieted himself. "The key code is 7681. You be the judge of what you find there."

Nora turned her gaze to the tiny headmaster, only to find the man wearing a neutral expression, in stark contrast to the worry he had shown before. In fact, he was casually sipping at his mug now, not even glancing back at her. When the orange-haired teenager's face turned back to Cinder, though? Well, the look that tiny lady wore... scared her. Cinder, in turn, looked back up at her, the dark expression on her face ever-present as she pointed down the hallway. "... The auditorium's that way."

Without another word, the miniature lady vanished into a puff of ash. Moments later, another poof followed, signalling the departure of the second tiny person. And so, left alone in the mysterious hallways of the school, Nora set off to find her answers, all while wondering who the two people really were.

* * *

Despite the earlier events of the day, Nora was not left alone for long.

She found the auditorium well enough. After all, the school still had to give their orientation speech, and since students weren't expected to know their way around the school grounds, there were plenty of signs to point her in the right direction. As a result, even though the assembly hadn't started yet, there were plenty of people in the auditorium. In spite of that, the presence of random students-to-be wasn't why Nora didn't consider herself left alone.

"... Wait... What?"

The reason why she wasn't alone was because of her companion, who had chosen to return the moment she had arrived in the auditorium. And her companion was currently wearing a genuine look of concern, her eyes scanning the room as she began trying to make sense of the setting. After a few moments of silent searching, Cinder turned her attention back to Nora, her amber eyes wide.

"Why are there no statues here!?"

And her only response came from the other shoulder companion, his eyes furrowed as he stared along the auditorium, wearing his own particular version of concern, his hands gripping his tiny mug a bit tighter than usual.

"...Why indeed?"


	8. Does Everything Have to Be So Obtuse?

**Chapter 8: Does Everything Have to Be So Obtuse?**

* * *

Nora couldn't sleep. Despite the accommodations the school had given them, as well as the Valkyrie's own packed essentials, Nora could do little but worry.

Was it any wonder, though?

She had no idea where her maybe-hallucinated shoulder cohorts had disappeared to. Sure, they'd vanish from time to time, but they usually still had the decency to return after a few hours. This was the second longest time they had been missing, which didn't really bode well for the Valkyrie, since the first time they had disappeared for so long, Vale's coffee supply had mysteriously dwindled.

Nora was fairly certain that their absence was less related to caffeinated beverages and more related to their little visit earlier this afternoon; something that she still didn't quite understand. The minute they had entered the auditorium, the two shoulder-people began talking about statues or something, which was really weird since the auditorium had nothing like that. They also tried to keep quiet about it by whispering over her head, but considering they were whispering over her head, she kind of heard most of it, which even more worrying, since they were usually good at the secret mystery thingy.

But the worst part? Nora later found out that the school didn't _have_ an auditorium, and that the room was actually called the Amphitheatre... She wasn't quite sure why her brain considered that the worst part, but that little fact stuck out in her mind more then she had expected it to.

Either way, because her two mysterious cohorts had decided to disappear, the rest of her day had been mostly normal. After the two had ditched her, the hammer-wielder simply chose to return to her friends, and they had spent most of the day exploring the school grounds. And getting a snack or three at the school's cafeteria... And there might've been little incident where someone yelled at them after she and Ruby defended the group from a rampaging dust cart.

But yeah, mostly normal! Really, the weirdest thing about her entire day, besides the whole airship interrogation thing, was that their school orientation speech had only lasted for a total of two minutes. You know, the one that had taken half the day to prepare for? And the headmaster barely seemed to pay attention, since he kept staring at the wall or something. But after that, they were free to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day, so long as it didn't involve the fun school facilities like the training rooms or the workshops.

Bleh.

At least it was fun talking with Yang and Ruby; She learned so many new ways to use Dust, and the next time she and Ren were back in Vale, they _had_ to visit that bar! Then again, Ren wasn't a fan of those types of places, and she could only imagine what sorts of trouble shoulder-Cinder and shoulder-Ozpin would start in a place like that.

...Shoulder Ozpin. Ozpin. Nora frowned as the name flashed in her mind. She didn't really know much about the Headmaster of Beacon—Heck, she didn't even know his name until today—but it couldn't have been a coincidence that the coffee gremlin she knew had so many similarities with the man in charge of the Kingdoms' most illustrious Huntsman academy. Their clothing choices, their aloof expressions, even their mug and cane all seemed to match one another's. So, if shoulder-Ozpin really was just some miniature Ozpin, did that mean that there was a not-shoulder-Cinder somewhere too?

Nora closed her eyes, once again trying to push the thoughts out of her mind. Given the way Cinder and Ozpin were at each other's throats, she really didn't want to think about what not-shoulder-Cinder was like. Besides, it was really starting to get late, and she couldn't afford to worry about those things when the initiation test thing was tomorrow. The Valkyrie rolled to her side, pulling out her Scroll as she tried to get comfortable, only to see how late it was.

"Bluuuh." Exhaustion was heavy in her voice as she groaned, pocketing her Scroll as the teenager rolled onto her back; It was _really_ late, but her body still refused to sleep. So she was forced to linger on the ground, unable to do anything except stare mindlessly at the ceiling and hope she'll pass out. At least the ballroom place they were staying at had fancy chandeliers? Not that it helped, but-

"Shouldn't you be asleep, Miss Valkyrie?"

Nora immediately snapped her head to the source of the voice, only to find a foot-tall Ozpin staring back at her, his face completely neutral. No, worst than that! He looked the same as he always did, barely smiling and smug as he sat on the ground beside her, complete with a miniature chair as he sipped his devildrink.

"What-!" While she was unable to stop herself from yelling that first word, Nora still had the sense to lower her voice, and after a brief pause to make sure no one had woken up, the Valkyrie began whispering to the tiny man. "... What are you doing here?"

"I don't believe I understand the question, Miss Valkyrie. Don't you recall that we have an agreement in place?" He was enjoying this. Nora could tell that the tiny Ozpin enjoyed being all obtuse about things. Was the headmaster like this as well? She didn't know, and she didn't want to know.

"I'm not talking about that." She resisted the urge to let out a huff, bundling up the frustration as she rolled to her side, facing the tiny headmaster proper. "What I mean is, what are you doing here _now_? After ditching me like that? Unless you're finally here to answer all my questions from earlier!"

"Ah." The man's brow twitched for a bit, before he settled his mask back in place, closing his eyes as he took another sip from his tiny coffee cup. "...I was hoping you had forgotten about that incident, but it seems that that was foolish of me."

"Yeah! I'm smarter than I let on! Smart like a cat or a fox or some other animal idiom thing!" Nora beamed, before shaking herself from her thoughts. She was here to interrogate, not chat, and the Valkyrie forced her attention back onto the man. "So spit it out, Ozzy. Why were you and Cinder so focused on that statue thing in the auditorium-that-was-really-an-amphitheatre?"

Silence. The man sighed, swishing his mug around as he stared at the contents for a few moments. Nora wasn't quite sure whether he was really thinking of what to say, or if he was just trying to avoid answering her. Either way, her gaze never left the man, and she slapped on her best Ren-impersonation as she waited for the man to answer.

Only to be interrupted by another tiny voice.

"Well well... I seems that Ozpin isn't as composed as he let on." A certain tiny woman chuckled as she poofed into view, a sudden flare of orange light that left behind sparks and embers. Cinder had a wry smile on her face as she made her way over to the headmaster, standing right beside him as she too stared at the man. "Backed into a corner with no way out. Did you really think this plan would work?"

"Plan? What plan?" This new piece of information caused Nora to blink, her previous expression falling, replaced by an uncertain stare as she turned her attention to the tiny Cinder. "Wait, were you two really plotting something all along? I thought you hated each other."

That caused Ozpin to stir. With a heavy sigh, the miniature Headmaster of Beacon turned his gaze to Cinder, staring at her for a few long moments before shifting up to the Valkyrie. She stared back, only to see a resigned man looking up at her as he set his mug aside. "Please don't misunderstand, Miss Valkyrie. Despite our differences, I do not hate Miss Fall. If anything, I pity her."

"...And just what do you mean by that?!"

Nora's eyes fell to the woman in question, her previous grimace replaced by an angry glare, fists balled and teeth clenched as she bore at Ozpin. The man, on the other hand, didn't seem to care, merely shrugging at the woman's outburst as his focus fell to his cane.

"Exactly what I said. I bear Cinder Fall no ill will." Ozpin's words were quieter now, barely perceptible compared to the conversation they had been having before. And in that hushed moment, the tiny headmaster closed his eyes, letting his words linger. "...What happened to _her_ was my fault, and she in turn chose Miss Fall to be her pawn. This is why I do not have any malice or hatred to Miss Fall."

The Valkyrie wasn't too sure what to make of that. And judging by Cinder's expression, she didn't know either. The rage that the tiny woman had had moments prior had faded to a complete confusion that matched her own, and spurred Nora to ask the most important question.

"Who are you talking about?"

Ozpin shook his head, breaking away from his thoughts as he looked back upwards to the Valkyrie. Or rather... looked passed her, as the tiny green man stared at some distant spot behind the hammer-wielder. Strangely, a light smirk formed on his face, the edge of his lips barely curling upwards.

"... A ghost. Nothing more, and certainly nothing you need to worry about. If anything, I believe you should be attending to that."

And to punctuate his final statement, Ozpin raised his cane, pointing the end of the tool behind her. Nora's gaze followed, and her confusion slowly faded to a panicked worry as she stared at the back wall. More specifically, a figure at the back wall.

A figure with amber eyes and a dainty black bow, gazing back at her.

* * *

"I can explain!"

She wasn't quite sure _how_ she mixed a shout and a whisper together, nor was she sure how she had bolted across the ballroom floor without disturbing another person, but in the span of two seconds, Nora Valkyrie had accomplished both. Maybe some of Ren's inherent ninja-ness rubbed off on her? Or maybe she wasn't doing as good of a job as she thought she was. Either way, that wasn't important.

What was important was the girl she was now staring at! Well, okay, maybe not staring, but something like a worried super-pout? The Valkyrie had no idea how she looked, but the black-haired girl in question looked very alarmed by her sudden presence.

"W-wha? How did y-?"

"Really, I can! Please, just give me a chance!" Nora leaned closer, and she was sure there was some sort of desperation in her voice as she focused on the other woman.

"W-wait!" The unease was clearly visible in the black-haired girl's eyes, wide and worried as she retreated to the wall. That didn't help, since Nora _needed_ to clear this up. Yet, rather than hear her out, the girl with the bow tried to ward her off, raising her book in defense. It didn't work, of course, as Nora pushed it down and out of the way, her turquoise eyes fixed on amber ones as she drew closer.

Nora could tell that the other teen had no way to escape, and the black-haired girl's bow almost seemed to droop as she too came to this realization. That's... when Nora realized that she might've handled the situation a bit too enthusiastically. How exactly did she look to other people? She'd have to apologize for that later, but that was for later! For now, she had to resolve this! "Please, just let me explain?"

There was a moment of silence as the two teenagers stared at each other, both aspiring huntresses wearing different expressions of fear. But soon, Nora's fear won out, as the black-haired girl finally turned away, closing her eyes with a resigned sigh. "O-Okay, fine. Just... let me go first, okay?"

"Thank you!" Nora was so happy, she did the exact opposite, pulling the other girl into a relieved hug. "Thank you thank you th-"

 **Thump**.

At least, she thought it was a thump? Maybe a tonk. Or a thwack? Regardless of what it was, Nora heard the clear sound of a hardcover book as it met her forehead, solid enough to sting, but light enough not to cause any lasting damage. She threw a curious expression up at the other girl, only to find irritation plastered on her face as she hissed at her. "That wasn't letting me go!"

"Oh, right. S-sorry..."

Nora's gaze shifted downwards, suddenly finding the floor a lot more interesting as she pulled away from the other girl. She sorta sat like that for a little while longer before the other girl cleared her throat, shooting an expectant look at her. "Oh, right. The explaining. Well... What do you want to know?"

Hopefully, she didn't see too much of it, and Nora would be able to explain it away as a random quirk. Scroll call gone bad? Terrible terrible nightmares? She'd have to think of something quick, or-

"Honestly? I'd just like to go back to sleep and forget this ever happened." The black-haired girl turned away from the Valkyrie, pocketing her book in some bag that Nora hadn't noticed, before giving her another cautious glance. "You're okay with that, right?"

"No!" Nora immediately shook her head. If she was alone, maybe she would've accepted that sort of resolution, but the fact of the matter was that she had friends now, and the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass them with her antics. That, and... well, she need to explain the situation to this person as much as she needed to explain it to herself. Her mind was jumbled, and ignoring everything, as she had done for the entire day, just didn't seem to help. "I mean... Just let me explain it, please?"

"I don-..." The black-haired girl stopped herself, closing her eyes as she brought a hand up to her forehead, carefully massaging her temples as she turned away from Nora. After a few moments of quiet, however, she finally settled her gaze back on Nora, letting out an exasperated sigh as she spoke out. "Alright, fine. If it's that important to you... Then let's start do you want to tell me why you were talking with yourself?"

The Valkyrie froze. This was what she wanted, right? To explain it in some way where the person would forget about it? Yet, all the excuses she had tried to come up with earlier fell away, and Nora's mind was left with nothing but the truth. A truth that was very hard to spit out, since it took all of her efforts just to explain it to _Ren_. How exactly was she going to the same to a complete stranger?

"Are you kidding me?!"

But before she could spiral back into self-doubt, Cinder poofed onto her shoulder. As in, a literal cartoon poof, complete with a fiery flare and smoke. "Ozpin's using _this_ as an excuse not to talk? Just forget about her already! We were doing something _important_. Who cares about your silly outburst, or the fact that you're making yourself look like a fool?"

The hammer-wielder immediately shot a glare at the shoulder-woman. This was important, at least to her, and Nora couldn't help but be offended at the sudden interruption that Cinder had brought. Here she was, trying to explain away her sudden outburst, since she didn't want people to think poorly of her friends. She's already troubled Ren enough, and she didn't want add to it by doing something that'd embarrass him as well as Ruby or Yang! That's why she was here trying to convince... convince...

...Nora froze, as all of her indignant anger faded away to embarrassment. She had really hoped that the book-wielding teen didn't see her sudden unspoken outburst. Maybe she couldn't see her sudden expression in the dark?

"Are you okay? You suddenly glared at... something"

That answered that. Of course she saw. It wasn't _that_ dark, and Nora was literally beside her. The hammer-wielder let out an embarrassed cough, clearing her throat before shifting to the spot beside the other girl.

It didn't matter _what_ she said now; she had already made a fool of herself, and there was literally no way this could get any worse. With that thought in her mind, Nora leant back against the wall, using the complete stranger as a sounding board as she tried to sort her thoughts.

"Hehe..." A nervous laugh was all she could muster, as Nora finally turned to face the girl with the bow. "Well, you see, there's a funny story to that. Have you ever seen a cartoon before? Well..."

* * *

"Nora? Are you okay?"

She didn't want to be rude. She really didn't want to, but the Valkyrie just couldn't find the will to do anything but grunt in response to Ruby's question, her eyes glued to the ground as they stepped out of the school. It wasn't fair to the girl in red, nor was it fair to Yang or Ren, but the normally exuberant hammer-wielder was anything but energetic today, and this caused no small amount of worry from her friends.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Nora's just tired." And worst of all, Ren simply accepted it. Nora could tell that she worried him the most, but her best friend still stood by her and covered for her terrible behaviour. She didn't deserve his friendship. "She was pretty excited about the initiation, so I doubt she managed to get much sleep last night. Right Nora?"

"Yeah..."

As usual, Ren was right, though it was more about the sleep thing than the initiation thing. And she knew that he knew it. How exactly was she supposed to sleep? The moment Nora had explained things to the bow girl—who she didn't even know the name of—she left. Like, she gave her a single confused stare, stood up, and excused herself. And if the girl had somehow thought that Nora wasn't crazy before, she definitely would've thought so now. Great job, Nora.

"You sure she'll be okay? She walked over vomit boy without even noticing him." Yang chimed in from the back of the group, fastening her weapon one last time as she voiced her own concerns. "Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if he'll okay. She sorta did drag her hammer over his face."

"I-I'm sure Jaune's fine." Ruby threw a glance over her shoulder, staring back at the entrance to the school, her brow furrowed in worry. That worried look soon turned away from the school, back towards the hammerwielder as Ruby tried to get Nora's attention once more. "B-But are you sure you're okay, Nora?"

"I'm fine." About as fine as she could be, at any rate. There wasn't really anything else to say on the matter. She had messed up, so she simply had to accept it and move on. With a sigh, Nora shook herself from her thoughts, taking in a deep breath as she turned back to her friends, forcing on a smile as she finally settled her eyes on them. "Really... Like Renny said, I'm just tired. It'll be fine once we do the initiation, right?"

Their hesitant nods weren't really all that reassuring to Nora, but she was fairly certain that her own fake smile didn't assure them either, so it all worked out. "C'mon! Let's hurry up and-"

"Actually, Miss Valkyrie, if I may have a word?" Shoulder Ozpin.

Of course.

If it wasn't Cinder, it was Ozpin interrupting her. This time, she kept her gaze forward, pulling together some semblance of inconspicuousness as she brought a thoughtful hand to her chin. Or maybe she should've brought it to her forehead and feigned a headache? Either way, she wasn't staring at the tiny person this time, which was a plus.

"I know you're eager to start the initiation, but... If I may make a suggestion?" From the corner of her eye, she saw the shoulder-Ozpin shoot a glance to the cliffside, where normal-Ozpin and Glynda stood. "I recommend we take a position on the pads further down. The incident with Magnhild and Mr. Arc may cause their attention to shift to you during the initiation speech."

Nora wasn't stupid. Sure, she made stupid decisions, that much was glaringly obvious, but the hammer-wielder wasn't completely blind to the world. She _knew_ that shoulder-Ozpin had been talking about Jaune, despite the fact that they had never learned his last name. She knew that he was deliberately glossing over the fact that he didn't explain himself last night. And she knew that he was intentionally trying to get them out of sight of the real Ozpin.

The question was why. And really, Nora had half a mind to just ignore him. The Valkyrie kept her gaze focused on the pads in front of the teachers, her eyes narrowing as she stared at th-

"Don't do anything stupid. Just listen to Ozpin on this one." Cinder chimed in. More importantly, she chimed in and didn't immediately throttle the tiny headmaster. This... worried the hammer-wielder more than she had wanted to admit. Again, she resisted the urge to turn to the tiny woman, shaking off her sudden surprise by pantomiming a headache, even as Cinder continued speaking. "I don't normally agree with him on things, but this is important. Do _not_ attract any attention. Least of all from him."

"...Indeed. I hope Miss Fall's gesture speaks of the weight of our request."

Nora paused at that admission. It wasn't what they said that worried Nora, but the way they said it. The tone that the two shoulder-advisors took on mirrored the worried expressions they had yesterday, when they entered the auditorium.

A glint flashed in Nora's eyes.

"If I listen to you two, then will I finally start getting some answers? Because if not..." Her voice was quiet, a hushed whisper that none but the shoulder-people could hear as she threw a deliberate glance to the two professors of Beacon.

Nora was getting tired of all the secrecy, and it was about time that she let them know. It wasn't a problem before Beacon, back when they just argued about random things, but now? Now, things were different, and the Valkyrie needed to understand _why_.

She let the question linger. From her left shoulder, the spot where Cinder had taken residence, Nora felt a faint wisp of air heat up, a barely perceptible change in temperature that did nothing to hide the woman's mood. And from her right, Nora felt a faint chill of dread, the air itself seeming to stop for a few short moments. Which spoke volumes of Ozpin's own reaction.

If she was perfectly honest, Nora really didn't expect the green-suited man to react that way.

However, both of them ultimately remained quiet, slowly contemplating her words. It didn't take long for that to come to an end, as the growing heat eventually faded away, leaving Nora with a grumbling Cinder and a frowning Ozpin. One that hadn't moved since they had begun their little negotiation.

" _Fine_. I was going to tell you his dirty secrets anyways." The woman was the first to speak, letting out a tired huff as she turned away from Nora. "But we'll do it after your stupid test. Hurry up and find a spot. They've already started talking abo-"

"I don't understand." Ozpin's voice interrupted whatever it was Cinder had wanted to say. This caused Nora to break her facade, finally turning to face the man on her shoulder with a curious look in her eye. And that's when she realized that he had been staring at the two instructors the entire time.

"What are you talking about now, Ozpin?" A frustrated sight escaped the tiny woman as she turned to her counterpart, an annoyed glare on Cinder's face.

"The initiation." Ozpin finally turned away, a worried expression completely replacing his usual air as he gripped his cane, eyes narrowed as he stared at the mug in his hand.

"It's usually... Why is he using relics?"


	9. Wait, What Do You Mean by That?

**Chapter 9: Wait, What Do You Mean by That?!**

* * *

"Wheeee!"

When the miniature Ozpin first suggested that she hop on one of the distant launch pads, the ones further down the cliff, Nora had been worried. Not because she thought he was doing some sneaky trickery or anything, but because she thought that he wanted her away from all the fun. The man had told her that all the launch pads were calibrated in a specific way, and that they'd launch students to different parts of the forest, so she couldn't help but think that the coffee gremlin wanted to lead her somewhere out of the way.

But, in the end, she had decided to listen to the man, allowing herself to be directed to one of the launch pads further down the cliff. She tried to get her friends to follow, but her attempts to call out to them had been silenced by a very scary glare from the blonde teacher. By the time normal-Ozpin finished his speech, it didn't matter anymore, as a bunch of other students had taken all the good spots beside her, completely thwarting all her attempts.

So, her actual launch was filled with cloak-and-dagger plots and no friends.

As upset as she had been at the time, the orange-haired huntress-to-be wasn't bothered by it anymore. Shortly after she had been launched by the machine, after she had finally decided on her 'landing strategy', the Valkyrie came to an awesome realization. Suddenly, the fact that the launchpad was specifically tuned didn't matter to Nora, even as she flew in the complete opposite direction of her friends. Why? Because she didn't _need_ to care about where the launch pad threw her.

"Woohoo!" Standing defiantly atop Magnhild, the hammer-wielder grinned at the air, ignoring the two worried figures that were clinging to her outfit as she fired her weapon again, an explosive blast detonating right below her feet as the concussive force sent her forward.

Yeah. She felt good.

"What, in the name of all that is good in the world, _**is wrong with you?!**_ " On the other hand, the tiny red lady on her shoulder probably felt less than good. Which Nora found strange, especially since Cinder had been the one to give her the idea in the first place. Back when Cinder had told her to go blow herself up that one time, the Valkyrie had just assumed she was being mean.

She eventually found out that she had been right, but that little detail wasn't important.

What was important was that it was actually a good idea! She found that out when she finally saw some famous huntsmen and huntresses, actual not-fake professionals, who did that sort of thing on the CCT's many broadcasts. Sure, they mainly used guns rather than explosives, but what was a grenade launcher but a more expressive gun? With her boundless energy, Ren's smarts, and maybe a little bit of cheating from shoulder-Ozpin, Nora had eventually worked all the basics!

With a smile, the Valkyrie shifted her foot downwards, tapping a part of Magnhild's head as she chambered another round into the weapon, before firing off another powerful blast. In a streak of pink and white, Nora Valkyrie tore through the air, wind blasting against her aura as she barreled down to the forest below.

"Miss Valkyrie!" Unlike the woman on the hammer-wielder's shoulder, the miniature Ozpin was a bit more composed, somehow carrying his mug in one hand as he clung onto her outfit. "While I do find Miss Fall's particular word choice ironic, I must agree with her general sentiments."

"What do you mean, Ozman?" Nora threw the man a curious glance, more confused about his magical coffee than anything else, but forced herself to continue paying attention to the forest below them. After all, she still needed to find a place to land. Maybe a fancy clearing? Ooh, or a hidden lake! Actually, she had the perfect idea! Without waiting for Ozpin's answer, Nora smiled in anticipation as her voice rang out once more. "And do you see an angry Ursabear anywhere?"

"...I'm sorry, what?"

"Never mind! Found one!" And with that, she fired her weapon once more, completely ignoring whatever it was Ozpin had wanted to say. She didn't mean to be rude, but her first test-flight needed to be perfect, which meant that she needed the perfect landing strategy! One more adjustment, another tilt this way... There!

As Nora made the final adjustments to her trajectory, she silently thanked the distant Ursa for its contribution to Magnhild's maiden voyage, a solemn expression forming on her face as they flew ever-closer to the now-fleeing grimm.

And then they landed.

* * *

"...still can't believe she did that! Just what was she thinking?!" Nora didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but the sound of a familiar voice, shouting angrily in the distance, was more than enough to wake her up. The Valkyrie internally sighed, idly wondering what Cinder and Ozpin had been arguing about throughout the night before ultimately deciding that it didn't matter. She was about to settle back into bed before her mind caught up with her surroundings.

She wasn't in a bed. She was on cold, hard ground, and for some reason, she hurt all over.

"I understand your frustration. I certainly would've never guessed that she'd do something as... excessive as attempt to travel in such a manner. But, despite of her actions, we mustn't pass judgement on her."

Oh yeah... She flew. How could she forget about that? Judging by the worried tone of her two shoulder-advisors, and the fact that she was collapsed on the ground, it was clear that things hadn't gone as well as she had hoped. Nora took a moment to check on herself, to see if everything was alright. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. Sure, her legs and back and arms and everywhere else was hurting, but it was the usual pain you get after you trip or something. Or, well, the usual pain _she_ got after tripping or something.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that." She sounded... still? Nora wasn't too sure how to describe it. The woman definitely sounded like she was upset, but at the same time, Cinder's tone was eerily quiet, and not the usual irritation that she got when she was angry. Which, the Valkyrie realized, only meant that she was worse than angry. "The only judgement I intend to make is on _you_."

"Miss Fall, please calm yourself. Despite our differences, you and I both know that we cannot afford conflict at this juncture." Ozpin's voice was a different kind of still, not his usual chiding tone as he spoke back... and that only made Nora that much more nervous. Carefully, Nora rolled over to her side, trying not to disturb their conversation as she turned to face the two. She was just in time to catch the expression on the tiny green-suited man's face, completely solemn as he stared back at Cinder. "... Especially not when so much is on the line."

"Damnit Ozpin, why do you think I'm so upset in the first place?! It's _because_ so much is on the line. I know how important this is!" Nora saw, rather than felt the tiny woman's anger. As she spoke, the miniature woman's telltale flames flare up, lighting the air with an orange glow, even though the forest itself seemed to ignore the tiny fire. "And yet, even when it's so damned important, you decided to meddle with things anyways! We wouldn't even be in this mess if you just stayed well enough alone!"

There was a moment of silence as the words sank in. What worried Nora more than the secretive talk, however, was the fact that Ozpin stayed quiet. From what she knew, the man always argued with Cinder about things... So just how bad was it if he couldn't? The Valkyrie had no idea what was going on, but this little argument was the final push that told her that she needed answers.

"What's on the line?" As quiet as her voice was, Nora's tone was also firm, her eyes not leaving the two shoulder-people. The two seemed surprised by her sudden words, no longer arguing with one another as they slowly turned around to face her, confusion on their faces for a few short seconds.

"You." Cinder was the first to react, her expression shifting to anger, her voice almost a snarl as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. And almost immediately, the tiny woman reappeared in front of the Valkyrie, visible flames hanging behind her as she floated above Nora's vision. As Cinder floated closer to her, Nora stayed firm, her eyes defiant as the tiny lady pointed a single finger down at her. "...What part of 'don't do anything stupid' did you not understand?"

"What's on the line?" Nora repeated herself. And she ignored Cinder's growing anger as she did so, not backing away from the question even as the woman's glare intensified.

"... Everything."

It was Ozpin who finally answered, drawing the attention of both the Valkyrie and the maiden of fire as he spoke out, his voice barely audible. After a few moments, he spoke out again, louder this time as he settled his gaze on Nora. "Everything is on the line."

"What do you... mean?"

"Let me ask you this, Miss Valkyrie." Just like Cinder, Ozpin vanished into a puff of smoke, leaving a faint cloud of pure white in the air only to reappear beside his female counterpart. And just like her, the tiny man stared down at the Valkyrie, his eyes grim as he crossed his arms. "Why do you suppose we're here?"

Nora paused at that question.

Her first response was to just say that they were here to torment her, to make her think she was crazy. After all, they always seemed to interfere when she tried to do something, and especially when she was tried to talk to people. But... that wasn't it, was it? Nora was all but certain that the two floating people before her were more than just simple hallucinations.

They were too expressive. Too knowledgeable. The two short months they had spent together had been enough for her to understand that much. Cinder knew far more about politics than Nora had ever cared to pay attention to, while Ozpin seemed to know everything about Kingdoms and huntsmen. They didn't know about everything, sure, and there were a few times when they had been pretty wrong about something... But for the most part, the two people knew what they were talking about. Multiple checks on the CCT confirmed it.

So what did that mean?

"Perhaps I should try a different question." Ozpin's voice broke the Valkyrie from her thoughts, solemn and contemplative as he took a seat. In mid-air. "What do you suppose we are? Do you think we are something as fantastical as guardian angels or spirits? Or perhaps we're some new, unexplained aspect of your semblance? Or..."

The man turned, not to Nora, but to his companion, giving her a single nod as he allowed her to finish his thoughts. In stark contrast to Ozpin's voice, Cinder's tone was far more grave, a chilling hum that caused a nervous chill to go down Nora's back. "... Or are we just figments of your imagination, making you question yourself as you slowly go crazy?"

Was it a coincidence that the woman's words echoed her thoughts? No, it wasn't... and Nora knew that that was on purpose. She ignored it, both the ominous words that Cinder had tried to say, and the expression that had slowly formed on Ozpin's voice.

"..That wasn't quite what I had in-"

"None of the above." Instead, she spoke her mind, staring straight at the tiny Headmaster. Because, for some reason, that's who he was. And at the same time, who he wasn't. "I think that you... are Ozpin. Not like, the Ozpin in charge of Beacon, but someone related to him. I don't get it, and you still won't tell me anything, but you're too much like him to be something my brain made up."

There was a slight pause as Nora held her breath, waiting for the man's response. And when he finally nodded, she still held it, completely silent as she turned to Cinder.

"... Which means that you're like someone else too. Someone who knows a lot about politics and Kingdoms. And..." Nora blinked, her eyes widening slightly as she came to a realization, her eyes slowly drifting between the two miniature people. "And someone who hates Ozpin?"

Cinder scoffed at her assessment, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. However, her amber eyes quickly returned to the Valkyrie, the corner of her lips curling up slightly as she stared at her. "Good job. You're not as simple as you look. That, or your latest incident knocked some sense into you."

"Hey! You take that back!"

"No. Now listen. I'm only going to say this once. And you should thank me for it." The woman's voice was dismissive as she waved off Nora's complaints. "Because, unlike Ozpin, I'm not going to be obtuse or deliberately vague with my explanation. Instead, you will know all you need to know. And trust me... You will need to know this. You see, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what we are. What matters is that _I'm_ here to kill Ozpin, in order to put a stop to him permanently. And he's here to do the exact same to me."

There was a glint in the woman's eyes as she paused for a single moment, a wry grin forming on her face as she stared at the little Valkyrie.

"But most importantly? You're here to help us settle this. One way or another."

* * *

"Did you _really_ have to do that?"

Ozpin's tone was resigned as he floated behind her, a mixture of disbelief and resignation as he spoke. Of course, Nora ignored it completely, keeping her focus on the path in front of her instead, her hands tightly gripping Magnhild.

"Shut up! I didn't expect her to have that sort of reaction!"

Nora also ignored Cinder's voice, a permanent pout on the Valkyrie's face as she continued moving forward. Even if 'forward' was the path back towards the Academy. Sure, her sense of direction wasn't perfect, so there might be some margin of error, but she knew roughly where she had flown from. And it wasn't like she could miss a giant cliff-side or anything like that.

"You didn't expect Miss Valkyrie to react negatively to a poorly conceived ultimatum?"

"I don't see you helping!"

The two shoulder-advisors continued arguing, and the hammer-wielding huntress aspirant continued her path. She didn't bother trying to listen in to the rest of their conversation. Why should she? She didn't even _care_ anymore.

All along, Nora had been concerned that the two shoulder-people were up to no good. They had appeared out of nowhere, knew things people normally wouldn't know, and kept acting like they were doing something that no one else should've had to do. She was concerned that they might've actually been something bad, and had wanted to hurt her in some way. She had been worried that they might've been part of some bigger conspiracy, involving dust and aura and who knows what else. Worst of all, she had feared that there might've been some cataclysmic event that could occur, one which threatened the stability of the Kingdoms and the lives of her friends.

NOPE. The stupid shoulder people just wanted to stupidly kill their stupid not-shoulder-selves. Why? She didn't know. Cinder wouldn't or couldn't tell her anything more than 'Evil manipulator rawr', and Ozpin just kept sipping his coffee and being all quiet. And the worst part was, for some reason, they had earnestly thought that she would be willing to help them!

The Valkyrie let out a sigh as she entered another clearing, gripping her hammer tightly as a few random Beowolves appeared. She didn't pay much attention to them, of course, since they were just beowolves. Instead, she casually clobbered them into smoke, not even giving them a chance to fight back as she stewed over how _stupid_ things were.

"I do not see how I can contribute in a way that meaningfully improves our predicament. In fact, I believe that the best course of action for now would be to give Miss Valkyrie some time to think on matters." Oh, she'd think on it alright. She'd think about how the best way to deal with this problem would be. In fact, she already thought about it, which was why she was heading back to Beacon at this very moment. They didn't want the headmaster to notice her? Well, too bad!

"Nor do I understand why you attempted to threaten her friends when she first refused." Yeah, that was the other reason why she was so upset at it. It would be perfectly fine if they had their little feud by themselves... But the moment they brought her friends into it? The moment they threatened to hurt Renny or Ruby or Yang? Nora knew exactly what she had to do.

"I panicked, okay?! Not all of us are an emotionless tyrant who learns everything about his victims, only to break them down and tear them apart!"

"I assure you, Miss Fall, I am neither emotionless nor a tyrant. I am just as distraught by this incident as you are. With that said, I must say that your reaction to all that has transpired has been... surprising. From all that I've known about you, I have never once assumed you to be so... impulsive."

Once again, Nora turned her attention away from their conversation. Or, at the very least, she tried to. In a mostly empty forest like this, it was genuinely hard not to listen in to their little arguments. It didn't help that Cinder voice was extremely loud, or that Ozpin's voice was deliberately Ozpin-y, and more than once, Nora had to resist the urge to shout at them.

Or to shout out in general. Frustration was mounting, and the Valkyrie's patience was wearing thin. How long had she been walking now? She didn't even get a chance to ask the two shoulder-people how long she had been unconscious after her terrible landing. Nor could she check on her scroll, since that had been damaged in the aforementioned terrible landing. As a result, she had no choice but to continue on her journey back to Beacon, so she could inform the Headmaster of everything that had happened. If she was lucky, he'd understand, and she'd be able to redo the initiation without...

Nora stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock as her mind suddenly came to that realization. How could she forget about her initiation?! The entire point of this thing was to ensure she got into Beacon without problems, and to help pick out her partner for the entire academic year! Yet, she somehow forgot about it! Crashing and being driven to the edge of her sensibilities simply weren't valid excuses either, since that didn't change the fact that someone probably took Ren as a partner by now.

The Valkyrie immediately collapsed onto her knees at that thought. Of course someone's teamed up with Ren. He was smart, cool, understanding, reliable... all the things that made him the perfect partner. She knew that having him be her partner for the next four years wasn't something that guaranteed, but she had still hoped that it could've happened.

Too late now. How much time had she wasted because of the two shoulder-people? If she had just ignored them, she would've never gotten on those stupid launch pads at the end. She would've never been launched in the wrong direction, and she would've never even considered flying with Magnhild. She would've never crashed, would've never been unconscious for who-knows-how-long, and would've never found out about their stupid plan!

She could be a student of beacon right now! Or at least had a partner! But nooo! Of course not! Instead, all this happens to her, just because she had been worried about something she should've ignored!

"You!" Without warning, Nora snapped around, staring straight at the two shoulder-advisors with anger in her eyes. They immediately returned her stare, confused and worried rather than angry, but she didn't pay much attention to that. It was her turn to be all domineering and unreasonable! "Both of you! It's your fault that things turned out this way!"

Ozpin seemed completely oblivious to her worries, slowly raising an eye in confusion as he stared back at her. "... What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean?" Nora's voice began to climb as she turned her focus to the tiny Ozpin. "If you both weren't so silly and sneaky about things, and just behaved like sensible people, none of this would've ever happened! Instead, you convince me to go get launched into the forest far away from my friends, and I end up crash landing somewhere for who knows how long. I don't know how much time has passed, where we are, or if the initiation is still even going!"

The two were silent as they stared at her. Which she took as an invitation to continue.

"I don't even know if I'm still in the testing area! Am I even close to anyone?! How am I going to get into Beacon if I can't even pass the test because of you two?!" Nora didn't like to get angry, nor did she like to panic, but the more she thought about it, the worse things seemed. What was she going to do if Ren got in and she didn't? Beacon was supposed to be their way to a better life... About the only thing that could calm her down was the fact that, at the very least, Ren would be okay.

"Calm down, Miss Valkyrie... I assure you that Miss Fall and I will do everything in our power to assist you in this."

"How?!" Her voice was growing coarse, and she tried to calm herself down. It was hard, especially since she couldn't see how the two floating shoulder-people would be able to help her. Again, it was their fault she was like this in the first place.

Still... As angry as she had been, Nora knew that they didn't enjoy it either; the way they acted told her that much. Cinder had been visibly distraught, even if she didn't panic the same way Nora had. And Ozpin wasn't much better... even if he didn't voice it the same way his counterpart did, his voice was still more quiet and resigned about everything. But even knowing all this, the Valkyrie still wanted to hold onto her anger and frustration. And part of her did.

For a time, at least. The more she glared at the two, the less better she felt about it. After all, she knew that lashing out like that wouldn't help. It might feel good to act all shout-y for a while, that feeling eventually dies down, and it never changed the fact that things remained unresolved. Ren had been the one to teach her that.

So, with a sigh, Nora tried to calm herself down, closing her eyes for a few moments before she turned her body around to face the two. And once more, she asked her question, her voice more subdued this time as she stared at Ozpin and Cinder, her eyes no longer filled with simple anger. "... How?"

All three of them stayed silent for a few moments, trading glances with each other. But as time wore on, the glances turned more pointed, the silent air growing heavier as Ozpin stared at Cinder, rather than Nora. The other two noticed this, but said nothing, their motions gradually slowing as their eyes settled less on one another, and more on the ground.

"...Ahem."

After almost a minute of this, Cinder finally spoke up, clearing her throat as she turned to face Nora proper. Her voice was a bit softer this time as she stared at the Valkyrie, carefully picking her words with a deliberate tone. "I concede that I may have been a bit too brash in my actions. As such, I am willing to help address your problem of being unable to find a partner, so you can continue your pursuit of—ugh—being a huntress."

Nora perked up slightly at that. She hadn't expected Cinder to help, anymore than she had expected Ozpin to. However, even if the tiny lady had said that, the Valkyrie still had her doubts, settling her gaze on the miniature red woman with concern in her eyes as she hesitantly asked her a _very_ important question. "But... how do you plan to do that?"

And at her words, Cinder smiled, a faint gesture that Nora noticed immediately. Why exactly was she-

"By assisting you with your latest misunderstanding, of course. It's certainly the least I could do to make up for all the trouble I've caused."

The Valkyrie blinked, staring at the Cinder with a blank look of confusion on her face. "... What misunderstanding?"

"Oh, you know... The misunderstand you have with your newest partner? You know, the person standing directly behind you?"


	10. Who Designed This Silly Forest?

**Chapter 10: Who Designed This Silly Forest?**

* * *

"Oh no..."

Her words came out reflexively, uttered before she could even stop herself, and Nora Valkyrie couldn't help but flinch at her own voice as she turned her eyes to the person behind her. It was always like this, wasn't it? Just when things seemed to have been going her way, something related to the miniature shoulder people ruins it. Don't think she's too blind to see the trend!

It had only been yesterday morning when she had been forced to reveal things to Ren, all because of an argument between Cinder and Ozpin. Then there was the whole being late for their airship ferry thing, then the whole confetti incident, both of which were also sorta-kinda Ozpin's fault... Maybe. Either way, the things that happened were definitely his fault! The Valkyrie was reminded of the awkward bundle of words she had tried to throw out last night, to that one girl who had spotted her talking to herself.

And now, it seemed like she had to do it again. But, unlike the black-haired girl from last night, this little explanation would be a stressed-induced bubble of wrath that'll explode all over them. Why? Because of the person who was staring straight at her. Nora tried to compose herself, nervously swallowing down her doubts in an attempt to collect her thoughts, only to find them returning full force as the other person's light-blue eyes stared back at her. And could you blame her? The person who had stumbled on Nora's little argument with Cinder was none other than _-  
_  
"You!"  
 _  
Her.  
_  
"I-I can explain!" Nora's response was immediate, but even she doubted that the other girl would listen. Why would she? After that incident yesterday with the cart filled with dust, Nora was certain that the white-dressed girl hated her and Ruby... Not like it was her fault or anything! The girl should've just kept a better eye on her cart filled with exploding powder bits! Even the hammer-wielder knew enough not to leave Dust lying around like that! Really, she had no choice but to-

"You're that girl from yesterday! The one who destroyed my dust supply! Do you know how much damage you caused with that little weapon of yours?" The girl with the white hair glared at her, her face red with anger as she pointed an accusing finger at Nora. "I had to stay up all night to get another two cases flown in from Atlas!"

"Hey! It wasn't our fault you let your stupid cart roll down the stairs!" The moment she yelled those words, the Valkyrie regretted it. The last thing she wanted to do was to make the situation worse... But c'mon! It wasn't her fault! And can you blame her for being cranky? She _did_ crash headfirst into the ground earlier, before passing out for who-knows-how-long... Yet, she knew that Ren wouldn't want her to cause more trouble for people. The Valkyrie lowered her tone, turning her eyes to face the girl. "I-I mean... I'm s-"

"Stupid cart? I'll have you know that that 'stupid cart' carried more than enough Dust to pay for your tuition twice over!" But the girl in white was having none of it. "A-and besides! It wasn't my fault that that blonde oaf tried to distract me! If you want to blame anyone, blame him!"

"What does that have to do with anything? You still dropped it!" To Nora, it was clear who was in the wrong. Just because someone tries to talk with you doesn't mean you suddenly push your stupid Dust cart down a flight of stairs! "And besides, that doesn't matter! If I didn't stop it when I did, it would've hurt someone!"

"It _did_ hurt someone! Do you not understand how much your actions have hurt the SDC?" It seemed like the girl wouldn't budge on her position, as she crossed her arms in irritation. "Then again, I suppose not, especially if you're the kind of person who takes the time to argue with herself during the middle of initiation. I knew you were trouble the moment I laid my... eyes on..."

Just how was that fair? She couldn't believe the silly logic that the other girl had used to blame everything on her. As the other girl continued talking, the Valkyrie felt her frustration grow, Nora's eyes narrowing as she saw the expression on- Wait... what? Confusion immediately replaced Nora's thoughts as she saw the other girl's face change from irritation to... dread? Fear? Something very important, at any rate, and Nora had seen enough shows to know where this was going.

The hammer-wielder immediately turned around, ready to face the oncoming grimm horde that had taken this moment to... Nope. There was nothing. Nora's face turned back to the girl in the white dress, not quite sure why she was standing there in frozen silence.

"... Oh dear. Of all the things I expected, it certainly wasn't this." However, judging by Ozpin's voice, the tiny man seemed to have an idea of what was going on. Fortunately, Nora learned from her previous mistakes, and didn't even turn to address the man, simply shifting her shoulder a bit in some sorta-sneaky way to let him know that he should continue. Thankfully, he took the hint... Or he just decided to continue talking anyways. Ozpin was wordy like that. "I never would've imagined your partner to be Weiss Schnee, of all people."

"Weiss... Schnee?" Nora repeated the name, her eyes fixed on the girl, more for show than anything else.

"Oh no. She even knows my name." Nora heard the girl named Weiss, voice low as she whispered to herself, her light-blue eyes locked with the Valkyrie own turquoise eyes. For some reason, the other girl blanched, her face growing even whiter than before as she stood in silence.

Nora couldn't understand it. What was so bad about her knowing Weiss's name?

"This can't be happening..." Weiss, for the most part, seemed like she was going to ignore her, as the white-haired girl stared into her quaking hands, muttering more silent words to herself. "No. No no no. Of all the people it could've been, why her?"

...Okay, even Nora could tell that the other girl was being a bit rude. With a huff, the Valkyrie crossed her arms, copying the girl's actions as she shot an exaggerated look towards Weiss. "Well, excuuuse me! If you hate the idea of having me as a partner so much, why don't you just find someone else?"

"You think I don't want to?" Weiss's face immediately snapped upwards to face Nora's, her tone filled with frustration as she stared at her. "Believe me, I would love nothing more than to just find someone more sane. But, in case you forgot, we were instructed by the Headmaster himself that the first person we make eye contact with will be our partner. Do you honestly think I can just pretend I didn't see you and..."

Silence reigned for a few moments as the girl stared at Nora, only for her gaze to shift downwards to the grass below. Gradually, the other girl's face began to brighten, eyes growing wider at some realization as Weiss muttered to the air.

"... Of course. It's so simple."

Just like that, the other girl's worries faded away, as Weiss quickly came to her decision. Part of Nora's mind was a bit offended that she was so eager to get rid of her... But only a small part. It wasn't like Nora cared or anything; She definitely didn't find it a bit hurtful that the girl was so happy about not having her as a partner.

And she meant it! After all, Nora didn't exactly want the girl as a partner either! It would've been better if her partner had been Ren or Ruby or Yang... Really, just about anyone would've worked, except maybe that girl from last night who thought she was crazy. Either way, now that Weiss was apparently set on not having her as a partner, the Valkyrie could do the same. Really, she appreciated the chance to get a completely new partner, and the only concern that Nora had over the arrangements was whether or not her next partner would be a jerk.

"Yep. Really simple." But besides that, Nora couldn't help but agree with their little plan, giving a slow nod as she turned to the girl in white. "We'll just walk away and pretend we never saw each other. Deal?"

The moment she finished her words, a tiny chuckle erupted from her shoulder. The Valkyrie resisted the urge to shoot a glare towards the source, as the voice of a certain tiny headmaster echoed in the air. Just what was he laughing about? She had just finished having an argument with someone who was definitely not her partner anymore, so she couldn't see what the man found so funny.

"Deal." Not that it mattered, since Weiss soon turned her attention back to the Valkyrie. The white-dressed girl straightened herself up, making a show of brushing at her dress as she fixed her eyes with Nora once more. "Neither of us saw each other, or anything of the sort. I'll even keep quiet about your silly little habit of talking to yourself, so long as no one hears about this."

"Fine by me." Nora's voice had a sense of finality to it, and she gave the other girl a single affirmative nod as she turned around to leave.

"I will have to object to this particular arrangement."

Only to see another person standing behind the trees. Just like Weiss, this woman wasn't exactly well-hidden, as the green shrubs did little to mask her blonde hair, black and white outfit, or purple cape. However, unlike Weiss, the woman was also making absolutely no effort to hide herself, as she stared at the two girls with a very visible frown.

...At least she found out what Ozpin had been chuckling about.

* * *

"Honestly. Did you two really believe we'd allow something like this to happen?"

Glynda Goodwitch glared at the two girls, a stern look on her face as her eyes shifted from Weiss to Nora. She kept one arm around her Scroll, her free hand occasionally pressing the device's screen every so often, its purpose completely unknown to Nora as the teacher continued lecturing the two students. "This is _Beacon Academy_ , the most illustrious huntsman institution in all of Vale."

Both Nora and Weiss had their eyes fixed to the ground, unable to voice even a single word of protest. The Valkyrie flinched at every tone, every word that the teacher made, her chastising voice far more painful than the worst lecture she had ever received from Ren. From the corner of her eye, the hammer-wielder noticed Weiss flinch in a similar manner, but the shared sentiment did little ease her growing sense of shame.

"Were you two completely unaware that we've been keeping all students under surveillance?" However, Glynda's next words threw those feelings aside, replacing them with a terrible sense of dread as worry filled Nora's thoughts. "Barring Miss Valkyrie's unique case, the faculty has been completely aware all the actions taken by prospective students since their initial deployment from the cliffs. Why do you suppose I'm here in the first place?"

"What?!" The tiny woman on Nora's shoulders hissed at the sudden information, turning her attention to her male counterpart. In return, Ozpin averted his gaze, merely releasing a single awkward cough. "Why the hell didn't you let us know they were keeping watch?"

"Would you believe me if I said I forgot?"

Nora tried to drown out Cinder's frustrated cries. That task in particular was hard, as the Valkyrie herself felt a similar amount of frustration. If Ozpin had just _told_ them that everything had been under watch, Nora wouldn't have even tried to do anything suspicious. Not that it mattered anymore; it was clear that the staff of Beacon knew something, if they were willing to send someone to interrupt the initiation. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, Nora slowly turned her attention back to the blonde instructor.

"...okay, Miss Valkyrie?"

Just in time, too. Well, a bit late, since she didn't know what the teacher was talking about, but it was clear that she was in trouble. The hammer-wielder's tone was quiet as she spoke out, reaching for the first words that sprang up to her mind. "I'm sorry..."

"Sorry...?" Confusion was evident in the woman's voice as Glynda blinked at the Valkyrie's sudden statement. Immediately, Nora's mood sank further, and it took all the effort the girl could muster not to turn her eyes away in shame. Once again, she had just messed something up again. She alway-

"Miss Valkyrie, I was asking if you were okay."

"What?" And now, it was Nora's turn to be confused. Some of her doubts still lingered, but they were muted when she heard the worried tone in the teacher's voice. "U-uhm, I mean... Yes?"

"If you are certain..." The teacher's voice trailed off as she settled her eyes on the Nora, a skeptical look fixed on the woman's face as she stared at the orange-haired girl, standing in silence for a few moments before finally tapping something into her Scroll. "But if you aren't, do not make the mistake of ignoring it. Despite the Headmaster's speech earlier, the faculty still holds the safety of its students, attending or otherwise, in high regards."

At those words, the blonde instructor turned her body fully to face Nora, her eyes not quite holding the same steely expression as before. "Which was what prompted my presence in the first place. Were you aware that your landing strategy brought you outside of the initiation area, Miss Valkyrie?"

Of course not. And she answered as such, slowly shaking her head as the Valkyrie tried to figure out what the teacher was saying.

"That was nearly half an hour ago. So you can understand our concern when, half an hour later, you return to the initiation area completely covered in injuries, all while making a very concerted effort to withdraw to the academy itself. Not to mention your bouts of frustration."

Oh. Ooooh. Slowly, Nora felt some of her tension fade away. So they _hadn't_ seen her talking with her shoulder advisors, at least not when she landed. Still, part of her was still worried that they had heard the little argument she had with Cinder. Then again, Glynda wasn't bringing it up or anything, so that was a good sign, right?

Yeah, sure! And with that, the Valkyrie pushed those particular worries out of her mind, feeling a bit more relieved now, ready to face the challenge of-

"Now that that's out of the way, we still have to discuss the matter about your partnership." The challenge of having Weiss as a partner. The hammer-wielder couldn't even delude herself to thinking that Glynda had forgotten that particular topic, which was why she gave Weiss a single worried glance, before turning her attention back to the teacher. She wasn't quite sure what the instructor had in mind, and before she could ask, the older woman spoke out. "Namely, that there will be no discussion. You two are officially recognized as partners."

Welp. That's that.

As unhappy as Nora had been about that decision, she knew that there was no way to argue it. And it seemed that Weiss felt the exact same way, as Nora saw the girl flinch from the corner of her eyes, the other girl's shoulders falling as the instructor made the assignment official.

"Now, I believe we're done here. Unless you two believe there's something else to discuss?" Glynda let the question hang in the air for a few moments, her tone completely neutral as she turned back to the two girls. She gave each of them a single stare, as if daring them to speak up, but neither the Valkyrie nor her newly appointed partner could find the strength to protest. Seemingly content with this development, the teacher gave a single nod as she submitted one final entry into her scroll. "Good. Now, since you two seem to have no concerns about the arrangement, I suggest you two return to your initiation."

Those were the teacher's final words, and without waiting for another response, the instructor of Beacon walked away, leaving the two prospective students alone to their test. Silence followed Glynda's depature, the air slowly filled by an uncomfortable tension as the two girls stood still. Neither were willing to make the first move, Weiss's eyes locked to the grind as Nora looked at everything except her new partner. Eventually, the Valkyrie's eyes settled on some random shrub, a good a prop as any as she slowly cleared her throat.

"So, erm... Any ideas of where we should go?"

Weiss simply scoffed, staring at Nora for a few seconds before stepping into the woods.

"H-Hey! Wait for me!"

* * *

"You dolt! Wait for me!"

The Valkyrie could barely hear her partner's voice. And unlike the last hour or so, when Weiss had taken the role of leader and led them through the thickest parts of the forest lead, it wasn't because Nora ignored her. This time, she really did have difficulty hearing the heiress's voice. Oh, and apparently, Weiss was an heiress, a word that Nora never really paid attention to until today, when she had been forced to sit through a ten-minute lecture about why it was so important. Incidentally, that's also why they were currently in a rush.

Or, at least, Weiss was in a rush.

Nora turned around, a curious look on her face as she yelled back to her partner, one hand up to her mouth as she tried to project her voice. "I thought you said you didn't want to ride the Ursakart!"

"That was _before_ you woke up the King Taijitu!"

She could hear Weiss this time, which meant that she was either getting closer, or getting louder. Regardless, Nora kicked her foot downwards, pressing against the Ursa's neck as she pulled back on its fur. The poor beast slowed its pace, now running in some sort of murderous trot rather than a frantic sprint; hopefully, this was enough to allow her partner to get on. Nora leant backwards, one hand outstretched as she tried to reach for the white-dressed girl. "Quick, Weiss! Hop on!"

Just like the last few times the Valkyrie had offered, there was a slight pause, doubt in her partner's eyes as she gave her a worried glance. However, those times didn't involve a giant murderous snake grimm, so Weiss didn't spend too long debating the issue. Once the heiress was on the beast proper, Nora kicked her heels together once again, willing the grimm forward with a single commanding shout. "Hi-yah!"

"I still don't understand how you managed this." Weiss's voice came up from behind the Valkyrie, her tone filled with doubt. Still, her partner seemed to trust the vehicle enough not to immediately jump off, which was always nice. "...So how _did_ you manage it?"

"Does it help if I say that I don't know either?" It wasn't like she knew the science behind it or anything. She wasn't even completely convinced that she was actually steering it, or just threatening it to run in a specific direction... Which might be the same thing, now that she thought about it.

"You know what? Forget I asked." At least her partner was satisfied with her answer! Nora was worried that she'd have to come up with some random reason for her mysterious Ursa-driving-skills. Sure, she could just make something up, but it was a little hard to think of an origin story while attempting to steer a rampaging bear monster between a bunch of trees, while a bigger, rampaging-er snake monster chased them.

Actually, speaking of the snake monster... Nora threw another look behind her, curiosity evident on her face. "Hey, Weissy?"

"Please don't call me that." Her partner sounded exhausted all of a sudden, which was weird considering it was the bear doing the running. "And please watch where you're... Driving I guess. I don't know anymore. What did you want?"

"I just wanted to know why we aren't fighting the snake thing." Nora tilted her head back, gesturing to the King Taijitu behind them, as the beast continued weaving around—and occasionally demolishing through—countless trees. "I betcha we could take it just fine!"

"Of course we could. I don't doubt our abilities. However..." As she spoke, Nora's partner activated her semblance, creating a fancy symbol thing in the air that used a bunch of dust. It took a few moments, but gradually, a large icicle formed behind them, floating still for a split before shooting off towards the distant grimm. Unfortunately, the grimm was more than ready, quickly knocking up the remains of a tree to intercept the attack. "...As you can see, our opponent is a troublesome one. Since Taijitu aren't known for their ability to chase down their quarry, it's more efficient if we simply flee. Besides, we've wasted enough time in that elusive labyrinth of a forest."

"But... it wasn't that bad. You jus-"

" _Elusive. Labyrinth._ "

Weiss's semblance punctuated her words again, except this time, Nora felt the chill of ice dust or whatever it was called, and her body instantly flinched away from the sensation. Not because she was scared Weiss would actually hurt her or anything; she was honestly worried that her partner would do something evil, like dropping snow down her back. That's what she'd do if she could control dust to that degree, at least. "Okay, okay!"

"Now, unless I'm mistaken, as long as we maintain this pace, we should be able to lose our pursuer in five minutes."

Huh. Actually, that didn't sound too bad. Though, if Nora was perfectly honest, she was certain that they'd be able to defeat the stupid snake thing in less time than that. Oh well, Ursa racing was still fun, so the Valkyrie didn't really complain too much. All she had to do was keep her eyes in front of them an-

Oh. That's not good. The Valkyrie threw a hesitant glance behind her, only to see that her partner was more focused on what was behind them than what was in front of them. "... Hey Weiss?"

The heiress gave a sigh, pausing for just a moment, her glyph half-formed as she turned around back to Nora. As a result, this also meant that she had turned around to face what was in front of them. "Yes, Nor-... Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah. I think so. This is bad, isn't it?" Nora voiced her concern, and her worries grew when she realized her partner was unable to do anything but nod in agreement. After all, why wouldn't she be worried after seeing what was in the distance? There, right in front of them, barely a minute out from their current location, was a bunch of their fellow students running around a bunch of ruins.

All while being chased by a bunch of giant, murderous grimm.


	11. Are We Finally Partners Now?

**Chapter 11: Are We Finally Partners Now?**

* * *

That was a _big_ bird.

A frown appeared on the Valkyrie's face as that thought echoed in her mind, her eyes fixed upwards at the monstrous grimm. Nora was no stranger to Nevermore, as the flying grimm were one of the more common types of creatures she and Ren had faced during their travels. Likewise, she never really had too much trouble with the smaller ones, since Magnhild was very effective at turning a flock of the flying annoyances into fancy smokey fireworks.

But that was only against the smaller ones.

The one that was currently circling the forest above them was, by far, the largest Nevermore she had ever seen. While her usual grenades did well against swarms of small, stupid birds, Nora really wasn't sure how much damage she could do against something nearly three times the size of a Bullhead. And to make things worse, this grimm was smart enough to stay out of reach of her grenades. Probably by accident, since it hadn't seen her yet, but the fact that it was still flying so high overhead couldn't be good.

"Oh dear. This may prove to be a bit problematic. What do you plan to do, Miss Valkyrie?"

The voice of a tiny green man echoed from Nora's shoulder, and she held back the urge to turn and face him. Didn't he know it was unsafe to try and attract the attention of someone who's busy driving? Fortunately, she was the safest, most responsible-est person she knew, and kept her attention fixed forward as she drove the Ursakart towards her distant classmates.

"Aren't you supposed to be the _sagely mentor_?" Sarcasm filled Cinder's voice as she spoke up from the Valkyrie's other shoulder, her words directed solely at her counterpart as she answered mini-Ozpin's question. "Shouldn't you be giving her some advice? Or do you still view people as expendable tools?"

However, Ozpin did not rise to her barbs. Instead, Nora heard the telltale sound of the man sipping at his tiny cup, which was extremely rude considering he was right beside her ear. Still, she couldn't exactly scold him with Weiss behind her, and the Valkyrie just tried to ignore the shoulder-people's silly voices. Since, you know, the giant Nevermore was more important.

"I will offer my assistance when it is required. With that said, it would be detrimental to her development as a huntress if she comes to rely on us. As a student, Miss Valkyrie must be capable of assessing the situation on her own, so that she may develop her own intuition and judgement." Nora could practically hear the man nod. Not that it didn't make sense, since she of all people knew how bad it was when she relied on other people... But still...

"Really." Cinder's response to the man's words was a scoff, her voice dry as she remained unconvinced. "Well, in case you've forgotten, _Miss Valkyrie_ here isn't a student yet. Not even I'm cruel enough to throw unprepared children at dangerous grimm like that. At least, not without good reason."

Waitwhat? Nora immediately turned to face Cinder, disbelief in the Valkyrie's eyes. Unfortunately, that had caused the Ursakart to turn in the same direction, and the poor bear almost slammed into a tree as a result. A roar echoed from the monster, and Nora had to direct her attention back to the grimm, leaving her unable to ask the red lady what she had meant. Instead, all she could do was struggle with the grimm's fur as she heard Ozpin speak once again.

"Ah, yes. Certainly, I can see why you're reserved about this situation, given your lack of foresight-"

" _Excuse me?_ "

"-but I assure you that Miss Valkyrie has the skill, as well as all the tools, needed to address the current problem in front of her."

A frown formed on Nora's face. It was sorta nice that Ozpin had faith in her? But really, she had the same doubts as Cinder did. She'd never faced something like a giant nevermore before, and something like the student initiation test thingy probably wasn't the best place to learn.

"So long as she and her classmates work together to face this threat, I am completely confident that neither the Nevermore nor the Deathstalker will pose a problem."

"Uh huh..." Unsurprisingly, both Nora and Cinder remained unconvinced. And while the Valkyrie wasn't able to voice her doubts, Cinder remained quite vocal, not moving from her spot on Nora's shoulders as she responded to Ozpin's silly non-answer. "I noticed that you failed to mention the King Taijitu."

"The what now?"

As if on cue, a roar echoed out from behind them, and Nora instinctively threw a look over her shoulder. It was fortunate that she did, as she had turned just in time to see the beast of grimm coil in on itself, both heads fixed on them for a few moments before the beast immediately uncoiled. That single motion launched it forward, the grimm's reckless charge uprooting dirt and grass as it drew closer, the gaping maw of the black snake's head threatening to engulf them entirely.

Nora banked hard to the left, throwing all of her strength into the Ursa as she forced her faithful companion away from the attack. The ground beside her exploded a second later, and the shock of the impact, as well as the sudden rush of adrenaline from nearly turning into snake food, drew an alarmed cry from the Valkyrie. Turning around, she spotted the grimm's head half-buried in a newly-formed crater, and couldn't help but stick her tongue out at the unfortunate monster. "Bleeeh!"

 **Thunk**.

And then her partner's hand chopped down on Nora's forehead. But before the Valkyrie could even utter a cry of pain, her partner's voice rose first, as Weiss practically yelled at her. "Just what is _wrong_ with you?!"

"...Bwuh? Hey! What was that for?"

Nora brought a hand to her forehead, slowly rubbing the pain away as she threw a look back to her partner. Not only that, but she tried to be as angry as she could while doing so, frowning at the white-dressed girl and everything. However, Weiss was undeterred, her own face far worse than the Valkyrie's as she returned an icy glare. "How else was I supposed to get your attention, you dolt?!"

"Gee, I dunno. Why didn't you just call my name or something?"

"Because," And Weiss crossed her arms as she spoke out, turning her face away in a very deliberate gesture to get on Nora's nerves, "I refuse to learn the name of someone who does not even acknowledge when someone is trying to speak with them."

Nora's sorta-frown broke at those words, her stare replaced by a look of confusion as the Valkyrie stared at the Heiress. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Did you honestly hear none of what I said for the past few minutes?" Nora flinched. She wasn't exactly able to say yes, since she doubted her partner would understand the troubles of having a shoulder-Ozpin and a shoulder-Cinder yelling beside your ears. Then again, she wasn't exactly able to say much of anything, since Weiss immediately continued without so much as a pause. "Honestly! When I issue you orders for the plan, I expect you to, at the very least, pay attention!"

"Plan? Plan for what?"

"What do you think? For the Nevermore and the- Deathstalker!"

The Valkyrie turned the moment her partner's finger came up, and through her quick reflexes, Nora had turned around just in time to catch the sight of the oncoming Deathstalker, its beady eyes clear as the Ursakart sped towards it. And Nora could've sworn that the beast of grimm had a smug glint in its eye, staring back at them as it casually raised its front pincer, tossing the Ursakart and all its passengers over it's head.

The final sight she saw before meeting the stone floor were a pair of silver eyes, filled with equal parts confusion and alarm.

* * *

"Nora! Are you okay?!"

Rather than answer, the Valkyrie could only release a groan of pain, her voice strained as her body reminded her of the disadvantages of not having a good landing strategy. Still, she was nothing if not energetic, and just because her _everything_ hurt, Nora wasn't one to remain down on the ground for long. Slowly, she rose to her feet, her balance shaky as she turned her attention to the voice.

"Ru-...Ruby?"

"Nora!" Her friend's voice immediately rang out as the hooded girl acted, throwing her arms around the Valkyrie as she hugged her. Nora tried to return the gesture, but a sharp sensation flared in her arm, and Ruby noticed her flinch. "S-Sorry! You're not hurt too badly, are you? Can you walk? If not, I-I can carry you! I don't look it but I'm strong! You'll be okay, right?"

"Calm down, Rubes. Give her some space." The voice of her other friend rang up next as Yang approached them, a worried expression plastered on the blonde girl's face as her shifted from her sister to Nora. "You gonna be okay? I know your aura took most of the hit, but you still don't look so hot."

"My aura...?" It took her a moment to process that word, but the confusion on the Valkyrie's face soon changed to worry, her body tensing as her eyes widened. Her aura! She had already taken so much damage throughout this initiation. If her aura was depleted here, then what? They still had the grimm to worry about! Without wasting another moment, the hammerwielder closed her eyes, focusing her energy on herself as she tried to feel for her aura.

Thankfully, after a few short seconds, her hand began to glow, as the familiar light of her soul washed over her.

"Heh, guess you're fine, then." Yang's expression immediately brightened, giving the Valkyrie a thumbs up as she shot her a grin.. At least, it was a grin for a few seconds, before a look of confusion washed over the blonde's face. "... Wait, wasn't it orange when you crashed earlier?"

"Orange?" Nora's brow furrowed at that statement, as she turned her gaze from the blonde down to her hands. "What do you-"

The rest of her words were cut off by a terrible screech, the Nevermore above making its presence known once more as it billowed its wings. Feathery spears shot out from the monster, and none of the three girls needed any prompt as they lunged out of the way.

"Let's talk about it later! Head to the ruins!"

Ruby's voice rose above the chaos, and the other two girls only nodded in response. It took Nora a few moments to find the ruins in question, but her eyes soon fell on the sight of a collapsed stone tower, where a few other students had gathered, and she wasted no time as she sprinted fo-

Wait. Where was her partner? The Valkyrie's eyes widened as she immediately turned around, her eyes falling back to the spot where she had apparently landed, only to find the charred remains of a Nora-sized crater embedded into the stone. Weird, but not her immediate concern, as Nora could not see any sign of her partner or the Urs-

"Someone help!"

A very familiar voice rose up, and Nora turned to the source, drawing Magnhild with some difficulty as she gripped at her weapon. Her eyes narrowed, ready to assist her partner at a moment's notice... Only to see a certain white-dressed lady clinging onto an Ursa for dear life. As it turns out, Nora had been the only one who actually crashed, and both her partner and her ride were still in full swing, the shadowy bear rushing straight forward in a mad dash while being chased by a very angry Deathstalker. "Get me off of this thing!"

"Don't worry, Weiss!" And Nora lunged forward, her instincts already falling back into place as she slammed her weapon down behind her, releasing a pink explosion that rocketed her forward. "I'm coming!"

"Someone _other_ than her!"

But unfortunately for Weiss, her protests fell on deaf ears, as Nora sped forward in a graceful pink arc. The Valkyrie raised her hammer, both hands gripping it tight as she flew towards both the Ursakart and the Deathstalker. And with a cheery grin on her face, the Valkyrie prepared to strike, shouting out a single word of warning towards her partner. "Weiss! Move!"

"Wha-?!"

Rather than the huntress-in-training, it was the Ursa who had enough of a mind to move, immediately throwing itself to the side, dragging Weiss along with it as it dove out of the way. Nora's path was clear now, and the hammer-wielder made full use of her advantage, triggering Magnhild one last time as another explosion launched her weapon forward and downwards.

Metal met bone.

Or Whatever grimm masks were made out of. Nora wasn't quite sure, but honestly, she didn't care either. The point was, her weapon and the Deathstalker's face had a little brawl, and the Deathstalker lost. Her arms shook at the force of the impact, and the Valkyrie found it difficult to stand... but she was still in much better shape than her grimm opponent, whose entire head had been forced into the dirt. The monster's legs twitched, and for a moment, the Valkyrie was worried that it'd get back up, but even those actions eventually stilled.

Did... Did she win? The air was silent for a few moments, and the grimm moved no longer.

"Ha! In your face!" Nora's voice immediately rose up, jubilant as she pointed her finger at the monster. She was tired, sure, but oh so giddy. This Deathstalker was _nothing_ like the one she and Ren had fought before, and this little battle would make for an even better story! Shooting a cheerful grin at the monster, she felt her tension fade away, striking a hearty pose as she hefted her hammer high. "No one messes with my partner! Now, bow before your Que-!"

It happened in an instant. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a glint of light, reflecting off of something that was too smooth and gold to be natural. By the time she noticed it, the Deathstalker's stinger was already in motion, aimed directly for her chest as her opponent threw out one last attack. The Valkyrie couldn't move. She had already been exhausted twice over, and that last attack... she needed a few seconds to collect herself. A few seconds she no longer had.

So she closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable.

"...You are a _fool_."

But rather than the Deathstalker's piercing stinger, Nora was met with the sharp words of her partner. Slowly, she opened her eyes, turning her gaze to the source, only to find Weiss glaring down at her. Behind the petite girl in white was the Deathstalker's stinger, completely encased in a flower of ice.

"Do you know that?" Nora flinched at the Weiss's words, pulling back slightly beneath the heiress's glare, as the white-garbed girl stared down at her, with a single finger pointed at the Valkyrie. "Never have I worked with someone so... _impulsive._ So eager to jump into danger without so much as a _thought_ for the consequences."

The words were sharp, and Nora couldn't help but slowly avert her eyes downwards. Her partner... wasn't wrong. She knew that more than anyone else. Even Ren had told her so from time to time, and though Weiss's words were far harsher, the same sentiment remained. She had hoped that she could change some of it here in Beacon, maybe even find some way to stop being a burden... But rather than that, all Nora had done was go from being Ren's problem to someone else's. And even if that someone else was a meanie face, Nora still had to apolog-

"But that says a lot about you, doesn't it?" Her thoughts were interrupted by her partner, Weiss's voice far softer this time as the girl's hand fell to her side. Nora hesitantly looked back up, her vision meeting the girl's light-blue eyes, finding none of the edge that had been on her partner's face moments ago. "I've barely known you for a few hours, and even I can tell that you're simple-minded like that."

Those words, in any other context, would've been an insult. But the way Weiss spoke them... Nora couldn't help but wonder what she was talking about.

"...So why?" Her partner turned away from the hammer-wielder, settling her eyes on the frozen Deathstalker behind them. "We've both made it clear that neither of us enjoy this little arrangement we have. And it's clear that I've been... difficult in my interactions towards you. So why?"

Why what? That question, more than anything else now, was on Nora's mind. But before she could ask, her partner turned around to face her, a simple look of concern and confusion on her face as she finished her question. "Why did you _impulsively_ do something so utterly foolish and dangerous?"

That question had caused her to stop. Of all the things Nora had expected her partner to ask, that wasn't it. Was it really so weird that she did that? She certainly didn't think so, and the Valkyrie wasted no time as she answered her partner's question, taking in a single deep breath before settling her gaze on the heiress.

"Because you're my partner, and you needed help?"

Weiss blinked. Then she blinked again, her expression completely blank as she stared at the Valkyrie. There was a moment of silence as the two just... stood there. Slowly, her partner averted her gaze away from her, crossing her arms in a deliberate motion as she turned her eyes to a random tree.

"O-oh. I see. In that case... I suppose I have no choice to but to do my best as your partner as well. S-since you're putting in the effort to make this work, I mean."

Nora's eyes widened, the doubts she had before slowly fading away as she turned to her partner. Did she really mean it? It was hard to believe, especially since they had been constantly shouting at each other up until this point. Or, well, Weiss had been shouting at her. But if she's actually willing to make things work...

"D'aww, isn't that sweet? They made up!" Yang's voice immediately interrupted the two, as the teasing tone snapped Nora from her thoughts. Her friend had a grin plastered on her face, clearly visible as she walked up beside them, bringing her hands together as she smiled at them. "Now kiss, you two!"

"Yaaang!"

Ruby quickly followed behind her, clearly not impressed with her sister's antics as she pouted at her. At the very least, Nora was thankful that least, one of her friends was reasonable. Still, the Valkyrie couldn't help but release an awkward cough, not quite sure how her partner would take their arrival. With a single worried glance, she turned her face towards her partner, worried as to what her reaction would be.

"Uh... Guys?"

Instead, what caught her eye was the King Taijitu from earlier, locked in combat with four more students, while the Nevermore circled above. Her friends and partner followed her gaze, and the previous tone of absurdity fell away to concern.

The four students took off.

* * *

"Ren! Try to get behind it!"

As Nora approached the rest of the students, the sound of her friend's name caused her to stop for a moment, and her eyes fell to the King Taijitu. There, she saw the massive snake grimm rise up, its crimson gaze focused on a single student with a green dress.

"Ren!" Nora's voice rose up first, and she immediately sped towards her fr-

"Nora, Wait!" And like that, Nora froze, her partner's voice immediately interrupting the rest of her thoughts. Worry filled her mind, and the Valkyrie couldn't help but turned around, giving her partner a questioning look, searching for some explanation. Weiss, fortunately, complied. "... You are in no position to help them right now. You're exhausted, and your aura is drained. If you want to help, then at the very least, take a few moments to help yourself."

"B-But..."

" _Nora._ "

Weiss's tone was firm as her partner gave her a stare. And unfortunately, despite the protests she held in her mind, Nora knew that the heiress was right... As much as she had wanted to help out Ren, she could barely stand. If she tried to run in and help in her condition, she'd just be getting in the way. Letting out a defeated sigh, the Valkyrie gave her partner a nod, her eyes filled with worry as she stayed back.

"Thank you. I understand your desire to help, but I would much rather not lose a... partner so early."

Okay, she had to admit, it didn't feel that bad to hear Weiss call her her partner. Nora turned to her partner, about to give her a cheerful smile, only to see the heiress draw out her weapon. Weiss turned towards her, a serious look on her face as she began focusing her aura. "Please keep an eye out for any additional grimm. I shall be providing support for our colleagues."

"Support? What do you mean?" Nora's eyes fell to the girl's weapon, unsure of what she was going to do. Then again, Weiss did that ice thingy, so maybe that was her semblance? A frozen snake would definitely-

Something caught her eye. More specifically, something that contained a lot of cartridges, each filled with coloured powder, caught her eye. The chamber in her partner's weapon lit up as Weiss poured her aura into the device, the blue cartridge filling up with energy. In a single, graceful motion, her partner swung her sword, and the energy followed her motions, as a blade of pure ice shot towards the King Taijitu.

Nora turned to Weiss. "Is... Is that dust."

Weiss gave her a stare, raising a single eyebrow as she stared of the Valkyrie. "Of course. What did you think it was?"

"Do you have any lightning dust?"

Her partner gave a slow, confused nod.

Nora smiled.


	12. I Helped, Right? Right?

**Chapter 12: I Helped, Right? Right?**

* * *

Nora Valkyrie frowned.

Well... pouted, really. Even if her partner was being unreasonable and silly and slightly mean, the hammer-wielder couldn't bring herself to outright frown at her. Frowning was reserved for those times when she was truly upset or angry, and while Nora was certainly unhappy with how things had turned out, she wasn't truly _upset_. After all, as much as she would've liked to help the others, she... really didn't need to.

The students who were gathered by the ruin relic place clearly knew what they were doing, and despite the clear danger that the two ancient grimm represented, the Valkyrie couldn't find an opportunity to help.

At first, she had wanted to help out Ren, since he was fighting with the snake thing that _they_ had accidentally led here in the first place. However, the Valkyrie quickly noticed that Ren already had help, which came in the form of a scraggly-looking blonde guy. A-and it's not like she was bitter about being sidelined or anything like that—Ren's apparent partner really did look scraggly!

Either way, he and Ren clearly had some plan thingy in place.

For some reason, the giant snake was really focused on Ren's partner, as both of the grimm's heads had kept their attention solely on the guy. Sure, he had that really shiny sword and shield, and his yellow hair made him stand out a lot more in the forest ruin when compared to Ren... But weren't grimm smarter than that? Nora freely admitted that she didn't know _why_ the snake was so focused on the blonde boy, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter; Since the snake monster had been focused on Ren's partner, it had allowed Ren to do his Ninja thing unhindered.

Rather than help, Nora and her partner could only watch as Ren danced around the snake's winding attacks, slipping out of sight long enough for the monster to shift its attention towards his partner. And even though the blonde swordsman had been extremely clumsy with his blocks, what with all the yelling and stumbling, it still did the job. Honestly, Nora couldn't help but wonder if those stumbles had been on purpose, since the other boy had done a very good job of keeping the grimm's attention on himself. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Ren's way of fighting matched up well with the silly-looking hoodie-wearing blonde boy.

Seriously, why was he wearing a hoodie with armour like that? It just looks dumb. Maybe _that's_ why the grimm kept attacking him, because his outfit looks so... What? She wasn't bitter! Honest! ...Anyways, after seeing Ren and hoodieman fight, Nora knew she couldn't really assist without messing something up, so she had turned her attention to the other giant monster monster instead.

But, just like with Ren, the Valkyrie saw absolutely no opportunity to run in and help. Well... that, and she _really_ didn't know if she could join in without ruining things.

See, the two remaining students were very... distinctive. One of them was that red-haired girl that Weiss was talking to in the lockers earlier, and Nora really didn't know her well enough to comment... But the other? _The other was the bow girl from last night._ The last thing the Valkyrie wanted to do was to jump in, get recognized, and distract them all from the giant bird as the black-haired girl questioned her sanity.

And really, if Nora was to be perfectly honest, her help would be a distraction at _best_. The Nevermore had decided that it liked flaunting wings, and the monster had chosen to stay above them, slowly circling in the sky as it launched giant feather-spears to the trees below. And the ruins below.

Oh, and the students too, but unlike the trees and temple, the two girls were really good at dodging. The red-haired girl carried herself really quickly through the air, dodging and turning in ways Nora didn't think possible. Meanwhile the bow girl was practically Ren, since she had the exact same ninja thing where she was all light on her feet, changing momentum or springing off of the environment without a moment's notice. Well... Not 'exact same', since she also had a fancy ribbon thing that she had used to swing from place to place.

Either way, the two girls were really good at dodging the Nevermore, and the bird grimm had been unable to do anything but screech in frustration.

The funny thing is, that was _before_ Ruby and Yang rejoined them. But now that the sisters were there? ... Well, Ruby's scythe was also a gun, as Nora had happily learned, and Yang was apparently capable of punching bullets. Coupled with the ninja-girl's zooping gun skills, and red-haired girl's rifle and seemingly perfect aim, the Bird really couldn't do much of anything. The four girls were more than enough to deter the giant bird's attacks.

Waitno. _Five girls._ Because, for some reason, Weiss still got to play.

That was one more reason why she was pouting, really. Weiss had been worried about her apparent injuries, and had forbade her from even using Magnhild's grenade launcher form. Of course, the reasons that her partner gave were technically correct—stuff about recoil and potential backblast and not being able to hold her weapon properly because ow hurt why—but that still wasn't enough to stop the Valkyrie from being disappointed.

So, while her partner shot fire and ice and all that fancy dust stuff, Nora was left to do nothing but sit and practice her pout-face. Incidentally, it was time to test her latest one, and Nora slowly rose to her feet, ignoring the strain in her legs as she did so, before making her way to her partner. With a single tap of the white-haired girl's shoulder, Nora tried again.

"Pleeeaaase?"

"For the last time, _**NO!**_ " Weiss really didn't look amused, her eyes sharp as she glared at the Valkyrie. "And please, stop with that ridiculous expression already."

Nora's mood fell further. She couldn't even do her pout now? This wasn't fair!

...Weiss must've noticed her expression, as the girl quickly closed her eyes, the glare on her face gradually fading away. Instead, the girl took in a deep breath, holding it for a few moments before releasing it in a soft sigh, her actions very... Ren-like in nature.

"Look, Nora." The Valkyrie immediately perked up. This was technically the first her partner used her name, and some of Nora's worries faded as she turned to her partner. "I understand the desire to... push yourself. I really do. But at the same time, you need to learn when to control yourself. You're injured, and if you truly want to assist as my... partner, then you must accept the simple fact that you _need_ to rest. At the very least, wait until your aura's recovered to a reasonable degree first."

Weiss stared at her, the girl's gaze not nearly as abrasive as it had been when they first met. But, rather than the girl's expression, what truly got to Nora was her partner's voice and tone. It wasn't _exactly_ like Ren when he tried to teach her, but even Nora the Valkyrie tell that Weiss was doing her best to try and convince her to rest. And for a few short moments, Nora remained silent, slowly nodding towards her partner. "I understand, Weiss... I really do."

"... Thank you, Nora. Now, plea-"

"Which is why I _need_ you to hit me with lightning!"

And just like that, Weiss's serene tone disappeared, immediately replaced by something worse than her usual glare. Her partner's expression, once calm, was now flushed with anger, contorted with barely contained rage as all the muscles in her face seemed to tense. " You just said-!"

"I-I said that I understood, and that I agree with you! I _do_ need to wait and restore my aura!" Nora's voice immediately rose up, interrupting her partner before she could voice her concern too loudly. "W-which is why I'm saying that you need to use your lightning dust on me! I already told you about my Semblance!"

"And _I_ already told you how risky that is! You barely have enough aura to mend your scratches!" To prove her point, Weiss brought a single finger to Nora's arm, pressing at one of the many nicks and wounds that dotted her skin. "It's very likely that you don't have enough aura to manifest your Semblance. And since the situation is reasonably stable at the moment, we don't _need_ to take that risk. Understand?"

Silence. Nora turned away, her eyes focused on the grass as she pouted again. Again, her partner had a point, and part of her couldn't help but imagine how much similar Ren's words would be, if he were here instead of Weiss. With how things were going... they really didn't need her at the moment. Nora didn't need to take a risk, and she was free to sit in the back and rest while the rest of the students fought. She was perfectly safe, all while her companions were forced to fight and risk their lives for-

"And please, wipe that look off your face. We all know that you've _already_ earned your rest." Weiss's voice tore through the air again, sharper now that her partner was reprimanding and complimenting her at the same time. Really, the worst part about the entire arrangement, besides the not-being-able-to-help part, was that she wasn't even allowed to feel guilty about being unable to help!

"As foolish as your actions were, your initiative allowed us to neutralize the Deathstalker before it could cause more damage. As you can see, the-..."

Nora couldn't help but notice as her partner's voice trailed off. Slowly, the Valkyrie turned away from the grass, her eyes drifting up to Weiss as she looked at her partner. When her partner didn't respond, the girl instead followed the heiress's gaze, slowly setting her sights on the thing she was looking at.

The 'thing' in question was the Deathstalker, its body slowly beginning to move again, as the plume of ice that had surrounded it began to crack.

Almost instantly, Nora tore her gaze away from the grimm, quickly settling back onto her partner as she silently pleaded again. The Valkyrie's eyes were practically alight, sparkling with anticipation as the ancient grimm began to stir. As precarious as their situation might've been, both she and her partner knew that there was only one way they could salvage it, and Nora couldn't wait to help.

"...Fine. Okay. _Very well_." And Weiss... Well, unlike Nora, her partner was far less enthusiastic about things. However, she too understood their situation, and with another irritated sigh, the heiress turned back to face the hammer-wielder. "...So long as you one condition. Understand?"

"O-of course!" Nora nodded immediately, already ready to go as she drew Magnhild. So long as she got a chance to join in and help, she didn't care what it was Weiss wanted her to do. "What is it?"

"Please. Stop. _Smiling about it_."

* * *

"For the record, Miss Valkyrie, I'd like to state that Miss Schnee's concerns are quite valid. Even I cannot say what will happen if you tax your Semblance to its limit like this."

Nora rolled her eyes at Ozpin's words of doubt. And since she wasn't facing her partner anymore, the Valkyrie was free to react to the shoulder-people however she wanted, so long as she didn't say anything. Really, the silliest part of this was that mini-Ozzie somehow thought that he knew about her and her Semblance. As far as the Valkyrie knew, ever since the two shoulder-people showed up, she had never even had a chance to _use_ her Semblance. So why does Ozpin think that he knows about it?

Of course, the real answer is that he doesn't, and that he's a stupid jerk who will never change his obtuse personality. So, ignoring the tiny headmaster's silly words, Nora prepared herself, a smile forming on her face again as she gripped Magnhild, adrenaline coursing through her as she hefted her weapon.

"Since when do _you_ care about your pawns, Ozpin?"

Cinder shot back, the displeasure in her voice clear as she spoke from Nora's other shoulder. And, just like she did with the coffee gremlin, Nora ignored the words of the tiny person to her right. There was time enough to ask them about the whole pawn thing later... but for now? Nora had a bug to squish. "... Though, if I'm honest, even _I'm_ a bit concerned about this. Are you sure she'll be safe?"

"I have voiced my thoughts on the matter already, Miss Fall." Nora didn't miss the defeated sigh that came from the headmaster's voice. "What Miss Valkyrie chooses to do with them is up to herself."

"What?! You know what happens if we lose her, right?" Okay, this was a bit harder to ignore, since Cinder was now bringing up more of their hidden-agenda stuff. The Valkyrie's expression fell, her hands gripping Magnhild a bit harder as that thought entered her mind. They were based on intelligent people, right? At least, they sounded like they were... So why were those two so... So... _Stupid_ about it all?

The Deathstalker snapped its head towards her, no longer struggling against its icy prison, holding still for a single short moment as it watched her.

And Nora returned the gaze, glaring back at the monster. As she took in the rest of the scene, however, the Valkyrie began to settle down, the shoulder-people growing less and less important as Valkyrie released a heavy sigh. As angry as she was, she couldn't afford to get distract, at least not at the moment. So, with some difficulty, the Valkyrie pushed the rest of the tiny little argument out of her mind, forcing her attention away from the giant scorpion grimm as she gave a single look to her partner.

Weiss stared back, the heiress wearing her own expression, her face caught between disbelief, fear, and exasperation. At least she didn't look as angry as before? Still, her partner stood with her arms cross, one hand gripping her weapon as her icy blue eyes fell on the Valkyrie. Silence lingered for a few moments, but eventually, her partner spoke out. "... Again, I'd like to state that this is a terrible idea."

Nora grinned.

Even she knew that this particular plan wasn't necessarily the most thought-out... There were any number of ways it could've been refined, from the person attacking the thing, to when they attack it... Even the person doing the attacking probably shouldn't have been her. But, at the same time, despite all these little issues and problems, the plan would work.

So, the Valkyrie shrugged, one hand gripping Magnhild as she prepared herself for her role, her smile growing wider as she braced herself for the charge. "Ready, Weissy?"

"Please don't call me that." Again, her partner stared at her, slowly unfurling her arms as she took a stance, drawing her blade forward as she pointed it straight at Nora. "... And yes, I am."

At those words, a glyph began to form, piercing the air as an intricate display of light and aura danced around the Valkyrie's upper torso, slowly closing in on her as she felt a charge in the air. Nora turned her gaze from her partner, settling her sights at the grimm before her, ready to smash the silly scorpion thing as she felt the light of dust surround her.

The unfamiliar pattern of her partner's semblance began to twist, shimmering in a sparkle of colour as the glowing lines spun out. Nora felt her nerves tingle, twitching both in anticipation, as well as the vaguest hint of worry, as the blinding array of aura and heat snapped into its rigid form, completely wrapped around her. For a single, instantaneous moment, all remained still.

Aura pulsed, lightning fell, and that moment passed.

"Woohoo!" Nora cheered, her voice rising up as she felt her strength returning, her body crackling to life as she grinned. The Valkyrie clicked her heels together, that single motion more enough to start the next phase of the plan.

Another set of glyphs appeared, forming a line on the grassy knoll, as the circular carvings of light and Aura connected a path between that deathstalker, and a certain hammer-wielding Valkyrie.

"Go go Ursakart!"

Well... A certain Valkyrie, and her trusty steed. As the Valkyrie brought her feet down, the Ursa began to move, the poor beast reduced to nothing more than a theatrical tool as it charged forward. An angry snarl echoed from the monster, but no one seemed to care as it lumbered forward, its paw digging into the first of many glyphs.

"I still don't think this will-" And that was the last Nora heard of her partner's words. A single bolt of lightning marked the rider's charge, as light and energy arced from Huntress to grimm to the dust-fueled glyphs, leaving its mark on the very earth as each step was burnt into the grass. The two charged forward, the Ursa unwitting and the Valkyrie unrelenting, Magnhild hefted in her grasp as they closed the distance between themselves and the still-trapped Deathstalker.

Metal met ice. Ice lost.

Their opponent was struck, utterly desolated in one single display of power, as the strength of an exploding Valkyrie, speed of a livid Ursakart, and mild annoyance of an irate Schnee tore through its prison. The pitiful beast that had once been trapped in ice had been set free.

And freely, it flew. Fueled by the unstoppable force of Nora Valkyrie, the beast of grimm was launched into the air, a baleful shriek that tore through the skies as the helpless creature ascended.

Then, perhaps abruptly, its voice stopped, as the ballistic Deathstalker flew headfirst into a thoroughly confused Nevermore.

"Booyah!"

The cheerful voice of a certain energetic hammer-wielder rang out.

* * *

"Hmmhmmhmm~"

Nora hummed, mostly to herself as she strode into the circular temple ruin. At least, she thought it was a temple... It had all the fancy pedestal things. Either way, she wore a happy smile, moving with a jump in her step as she did so, barely able to restrain herself from lunging forward. Not that she was going to lunge at anything specific, mind you; rather, she just wanted to leap for the sake of leaping. Maybe it had something to do with her Semblance?

"I can't-! You-... And the-...!"

Or, maybe it was because of her partner's reactions. See, she wasn't perfect, not like her now-not-partner Ren, so Nora freely admitted that she had plenty of flaws. And at this very moment, one flaw was showing itself, the Valkyrie beaming with pride as she skipped into the ruin, filled with energy and wearing a smirk as she heard her partner's disbelief.

"See Weissy? I told you that plan was perfect!"

"Perfect? _**Perfect?!**_ " Her partner didn't seem to share her point of view, the heiress all but glaring at her as she pointed a single accusing finger at the happy hammer-wielder. "You _destroyed_ an ancient monument!"

"Nuh uh! The grimm just chose to land there all by themselves!" It wasn't her fault that those old rocks were there! How was she supposed to know that they'd fall like that? Besides, they were just some old ruins, right? It's not like they were some secret unexplored area that held some sort of school-related significance... Even if it did look a bit... well, okay, _very_ important. "B-besides! The school wouldn't host an initiation anywhere with things they wouldn't want students to damage, right?"

"Not only did you waste most of my dust, you practically broke your weapon!"

"Your dust was instrumental to stopping the rampage of Shadowclaw's vengeful son!" Nora's words rang through the ruin as she took a stance, proudly pointing her hand straight upward. She ignored her partner's look of confusion, instead hopping over to one of the pedestals as she peered at the item, her voice still echoing outwards as she spoke. "And Magnhild made a noble sacrifice! She is now in the grand pancake-palace in the sky, feasting with eternal warriors in eternal glory and eternal syrup! ... At least until I fix her, I mean."

"You somehow lost control of the Ursa—which _still_ doesn't make sense, by the way—and the thing barrelled into the rest of our classmates! Including _the_ Pyrrha Nikos!"

Nora's hand froze, tense in the air, inches away from the castle-looking piece as she heard her partner's voice. "I-I said I was sorry! Besides, th-they seemed more confused than hurt!"

"That's no excuse!" Weiss stamped forward, snatching a completely different relic-y thing as she slipped it into one of her skirt pockets, before turning to face her with a glare. "And the worst part is, despite all the damage and confusion you managed to sew, the grimm in question still _aren't dead_."

Nora coughed at that last statement, her eyes slowly shifting away from the pedestal to the distant, collapsed tower. Even now, she could hear the pained cries of the Nevermore and Deathstalker, unable to escape their prison of fallen rock, doomed forever to struggle against each other and the pieces of discarded history. "E-erm... We didn't _need_ to kill them? The Ozman just said that we were just supposed to grab the relics!"

Weiss held her finger up, her mouth open as though she was about to say something. However, no voice came, and after a few moments, she closed her lips, only giving a low 'hmph' as she turned away from her partner. For a few short moments, the ruins were quiet, and neither the heiress nor the Valkyrie spoke.

"Nora?"

Then, that moment passed, and a single person broke the silence. The voice was familiar to her, and the Valkyrie immediately froze, no longer as boisterous as she once was, slowly turning away from her partner as her eyes found her childhood friend. "Y... yes Ren?"

The man stepped forward, his face implacable as he approached the hammer-wielder, his motions slow and deliberate as he stared at the girl. She wasn't sure what he was going to say, and all her energy had quickly been replaced by doubt. As he came to a stop, Ren stood silent, his eyes slowly shifting from the Valkyrie to her partner, then to the ruined tower in the distance.

Finally, his gaze returned to Nora, and the young man spoke.

"I know you had fun with it, but please... don't do that again."

"Aww..."

The Valkyrie could only pout.


	13. Are You Sure This Isn't a Dream?

**Chapter 13: Are You Sure This Isn't a Dream?**

* * *

She sat alone in her royal hall, all but silent upon her sacred throne as the woman lay back against the elaborate piece of furniture. She made no effort to rise from her seat, almost slouching in her seat, content merely on watching the events play out in front of her as the monarch kept her attention fixed on the display in front of her.

It was... an interesting piece of work, to be sure, and despite her lack of knowledge of such things, her closest advisor had informed her that the artifact was made purely through the work of commoners. The 'display' in front of the monarch was an immaculate sheet of light, a single pane of nothingness that was thinner than the thinnest piece of glass, originating from nowhere as countless images danced on its surface. Really, the artifact was so alien to her that she couldn't understand anything about it beyond its basic usage, but since her advisor trusted the item, so too did she... and as her attention shifted from the artifact itself to the images contained within, the woman smirked.

How could she not?

Things were proceeding as planned—no, better than she could've hoped—and the idle queen watched with amusement as the image of her advisor came into view, his hands hard at work with preparing her... Feast. Yes, that's an appropriate name for it. More than appropriate, given his skills and her unique disposition.

So much to prepare, so little time, and yet her advisor worked tirelessly. He broke whatever needed to be shattered, sown whatever needed to be sowed, and scorched all that remained. Truly, he was skilled in his work, and as the fruits of her advisor's efforts grew closer and closer to its completion, a single thought echoed in the monarch's mind.

It would certainly be a feast, and the monarch would dine well tonight.

Content with the pace of her instructions, the woman turned her attention away from the display, scepter in hand as she flicked the tool with a single motion, casting aside the artifact and its image. The unnatural light of the display left the room, leaving behind only the tiles and tapestry of her royal hall, and the woman couldn't help but release a hum as she turned a glance towards the rest of her domain.

As always, the walls of her throne room were decorated with countless curtains, each etched with her nation's favoured creature in a tasteful contrast of green and... Well, if she had to say it, it was a sort of... light-ish red? Either way, the decorum was pleasing to her, and that was all that mattered.

Just as pleasing as the curtains were, so too was the rest of her throne room, as vast pillars of marble stood above tiles of black and white, the polished stone reflecting golden candlelight as the monarch smiled to herself. Was she vain? Perhaps, but she was allowed that privilege, and the woman saw no reason not to appreciate her domain.

Besides boredom, at any rate.

"A-hem." Her voice was quiet, yet authoritative as it echoed through her halls. Her hidden servants stood at attention, waiting on her every whim, and the queen allowed them to hear her orders. "Bring in the... _entertainment_."

Nothing verbally acknowledged her words, but she knew her will had been heard, and after a few moments, two familiar figures walked into the room. The smile on the queen's face widened as she saw the two enter, idly drifting from entertainer to the other as she took in their image.

An aged man was the first of the two figures bearing greyed hairs and a wry smile as he stood at attention. It was an insufferable appearance, and one the monarch had wished to have forgotten, but the queen gave it no mind. After all, considering how different his outfit was from its usual green hue, it was an allowance that the queen permitted. Especially since he was now garbed in something more... appropriate; Something that matched his position of the _fool_. Really, all that remained of his usual image was the white cane in his hand, and that was purely because of the queen's unending benevolence.

The second of the two figures was a young woman, and perhaps a sharper contrast to the white-haired man from before. Unlike the man's expression of defeat, black-haired woman carried a tone of anger, her narrowed eyes and clenched fist doing little to hide her feelings. Just like the man before, the woman had had her previous outfit replaced with something far more fitting, and her usual crimson dress was tucked beneath her arm. Again, another act of goodwill, for the monarch allowed the foolish woman to keep her silly clothes.

Both stood quiet, eyes fixed on the monarch, unable to contain their expressions. Yet, neither spoke, for the queen knew that they could not stand against her. After a few moments of silence, the queen finally spoke out, her voice echoing through the room as she gave a simple wave of her hand. "You may speak."

After all, she was nothing if not benevolent, and the entertainers were hardly entertaining if they didn't at leas-

 _ **"What is wrong with you?!"**_ Cinder spoke first, though it was more accurate to say she yelled, as the woman brought up an accusatory finger towards at the queen.

"Why, what ever do you mean?" Of course, the monarch was undeterred, and maintained her composure as she sat up in her chair.

"You know exactly what I mean!" Without wasting another moment, Cinder brought up her dress, her free hand pointing at her ridiculous jester's garb. "Why are we dressed like this? Why are you on that ridiculously glorified chair? And, most importantly..." Her finger shot out to one of the curtains that decorated the room. "... is everything covered in oversized _rats?!_ "

"They're not rats! They're sloths!" Immediately, the queen pouted, her arms crossed as she gave a huff. "And it's _because_ they're sloths that they're everywhere. Isn't it great?"

" _ **NO!**_ "

"Miss Valkyrie." Ozpin spoke up next, clearing his throat for a moment before turning his gaze towards Nora on her throne. "While I may not have the same fervor as Miss Fall, I must admit that I too am... confused by our surroundings. Why are we...?"

"Dressed like jesters?" The queen finished Ozman's question for him. When the man gave a nod, Nora smiled, raising her scepter to the air as she gave her royal proclamation. After all, there was only one reason for the two to be in such poofy outfits. "Because! A queen must have jesters in her royal court! Don't you agree?"

"Ah. I see." That was all the white-haired man said, releasing a single awkward cough as he nodded. "Well, I suppose you're not wrong, but... That wasn't exactly what I was trying to-"

"Damnit Ozpin, stop skirting the issue!" Just like that, Cinder pushed the man aside, shooting a single glare at the white-haired clown before turning her gaze to Nora. "Why are _we_ dressed like this? What exactly did you do to us? And how?!"

Nora blinked, finally realizing just what they were trying to say. Huh. Now that she thought about it, why _were_ they in such silly outfits? Usually, they wore other stuff entirely. And it wasn't like they would've been the first choices as Jesters in her royal court. And besides, weren't they the ones who came in dressed like that? Why were they blaming her? Really, there was only one answer Nora could give.

"Iunno."

Cinder's eye twitched. Then, in a single burst of flame, the clown outfit that she wore was burnt away, fabric turning to ash, only to be replaced by the shoulder-woman's usual red dress as she glared at Nora.

Wait, shoulder-woman? Nora blinked again, her confusion persisting as she stared at Cinder, then to herself, before finally resting on Ozpin. "...Huh? Why are you two normal-sized?"

"That's what _we_ want to know." Anger seeped through the woman's clenched teeth, and the black-haired woman kept her eyes fixed on the Valkyrie as fire continued to dance around her. "More than that, where exactly _are_ we?"

As if to answer her question, the door to the room opened once more, heralded by the brilliant blare of trumpets as Nora's trusted advisor stepped into the room. Lie Ren, royal advisor and equally-royal equally-important super-chef, stood at attention, as he pushed in a large metal cart.

"Nora, dinner's ready."

Dinner? Was it dinnertime already? Oh well! Without wasting another moment, Nora brushed aside the question from earlier, her attention shifting away from the two not-jesters as she turned towards the fancy cart.

"Yay! What'd ya make, Renny?"

Rather than answer her, Ren merely smiled, reaching out as he took the lid off of the fancy meal cart, revealing the contents underneath.

...It was beautiful. It was a pancake, sure, but at the same time, it was so much more. In all the time she had lived in this world, the Valkyrie was certain she had never seen a pancake prepared quite like _this_ one. The fluffy texture, the immaculately laid out toppings, the pleasant smell as it wafted through the room... everything was at a level far above the lowly pancakes she had had in the past. The colour _alone_ seemed to speak of perfection, cooked to a pleasing hue of golden brown, contrasting with the vibrant colours of the toppings and syrup that laid atop the meal.

Truly, it was a dish fit for a queen. Nora's mouth watered, completely forgetting about Ozman and Cinder as she rose from her throne. Slowly, she made her way towards the cart, hand outstretched as she-

* * *

 _ **THUNK.  
**_  
"Bwuh?" The Valkyrie squeaked, her voice suddenly rising up as she felt something hard collide against her forehead. No longer was there any smell of delicious, mouth-watering pancake or the world's greatest syrup. Instead, Nora found herself with a mild headache and an overwhelming sense of... well, grogginess. That's a word, right? Her eyes immediately began darting around the room, trying to find what-

Oh.

Just as quickly as she began searching, Nora found the source of the thunk, as the angry face of her partner loomed over her, brow furrowed in an outraged glare. "E-err... Good morning?"

"Good morning? _Good morning?!_ " Weiss's voice rose up as her glare seemed to intensify, making no effort to hide her anger as she pointed straight at Nora. "That's all you have to say for yourself after _drooling all over my arm?_ "

Waitwhat?

Nora blinked, her attention turning away from her partner as she looked downward. Rather than a pillow, blanket, or some sort of poofy sleeping bag, the Valkyrie only found the sight of her partner's arm, tucked between her chin and the hard surface of a table. It took a moment for the girl to register that, but eventually, the rest of Nora's brain woke up, and she hopped to her feet, immediately pulling herself away from Weiss's arm. "S-sorry!"

"You'd _better_ be." Though she said that, Nora couldn't help but notice that her partner's expression seemed to soften, the heiress's shoulders slacking as the white-haired girl released a sigh. "... But, I suppose it's partially my fault for allowing you to rest like that."

That caused Nora to stop, the panic and worry in the hammer-wielder's mind slowly being replaced by confusion as she stared at her partner. Now that she thought about it... When exactly did she fall asleep? She definitely would've remembered something like napping, right? Instead, the last thing she remembered was the whole fight and ka-pow and winning the initiation.

Slowly, her gaze turned away from her partner to the rest of the room, a blank look forming on the Valkyrie's face as she took in the sight of her surroundings.

The school cafeteria. She _definitely_ didn't remember returning to Beacon.

"E-erm, Weiss? Where are we?"

"Beacon... Though, I suppose you're wondering why, aren't you?" That was all her partner said as Weiss looked up at her, no longer wearing the stern face she had prior. Instead, any trace of the anger Weiss seemed to harbour had completely faded away, as the white-haired girl shifted her attention towards the Valkyrie. "What's the last thing you-"

But before Weiss could finish her words, a loud clatter tore through the room as something fell over, and Nora found something colliding with her back moments later. Confusion filled the Valkyrie as she felt tiny arms wrapping around her waist, the worried voice of her friend immedialte replacing the previous noise.

"Nora! You're okay you're okay you're okay!" Ruby echoed out, partially muffled by Nora's back as the hooded girl clung to her.

"Ruby?" Nothing had cleared up for the Valkyrie, however, and her face remained perplexed as she turned away from her partner, her attention shifting behind her. First, her gaze fell on the black-haired girl, then to the discarded foodtray and the rest of her friends behind her. "What's going on?"

Well, technically she did, but her gaze reflexively fell to Ren. Her best friend a more... relieved? look on his face as he approached her, two trays in his hand as he took a seat beside the Valkyrie. "Nora?"

"...Yes Ren?"

She wasn't sure what sort of expression she should've worn, and the orange-haired hammer-wielder kept her attention fixed firmly on her friend, rather than the tray of delicious pancakes and syrup and pancakes and fruit and pancakes and pancak-

"You overdid it."

"O-Oh." Suddenly, the pancakes were no longer appealing, and the Valkyrie shrank away, her attention falling to the floor as she found her feet more interesting. She remembered the last time she overdid it, and how much of a mess she made. "...Sorry."

"Hey, C'mon! Don't worry about it!" But, just like that, Yang brought her hand on Nora's back, immediately drawing the girl's attention as she looked up to the grinning face of her friend. "If you didn't do what you did, we'd probably still be fighting those things! And besides, it's not like anything bad happened. I mean, you only passed out for a few hours."

Nora froze, her eyes fixed on the blonde-haired brawler as her friend took a seat. "A few hours?"

"Yeaf." But it seemed like her friend wasn't worried. Already, Yang took a bite of her food, ignoring the worried voice of the Valkyrie as she leaned back. "You go'h to sleef thr-"

"Ugh. _Please_ don't talk with your mouth full." Once again, Weiss spoke up, shooting a pointed glance at the girl as she did so. Of course, Yang's only response was a casual shrug, which drew a tired sigh from the heiress as she turned her attention away from the blonde and back towards the Valkyrie.

"But yes. After the initiation, you promptly collapsed. We were... at a loss for what to do, but fortunately, an academy Bullhead quickly arrived to pick us up. After all, _someone_ ," And Weiss gave Nora a pointed glance as she said this, "Had caused enough of a stir for Beacon to notice, and we were able to bring you to the school without delay. From there, one of the teachers confirmed that it was merely exhaustion and aura depletion, so the teacher told us to bring you to the cafeteria to rest up."

Huh? That last part was a bit confusing, and Nora couldn't help but tilt her head at the statement. "Why the cafeteria? Wouldn't it have been better to rest in a bed or something?"

"Yes, but someone's stomach kept growling in her sleep, and it was disturbing the patients who were actually there." Her partner's next words immediately made the Valkyrie blush, and Nora couldn't help but cough at that statement.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Weissy?"

Before Nora could dwell too much on that point, however, Yang's voice rose up again, carrying a light-hearted tone as she finished her food. Curiosity filled Nora's mind, and she turned her gaze from her blonde friend to her partner, only to find Weiss flinching at her friend's words. "A-And what would that be?"

"Well, I just want Nora to know that you were the one who said that it'd be best if she woke up with food around her."

"O-Of course! Clearly, since she exhausted her aura, the logical course of action was to ensure that she replenished it as soon as she was able." That much made sense, which was why Nora wasn't quite sure why Weiss had chosen to cross her arms and turn away. "It was only my duty as her partner."

"Oh? Your partner, huh?" Yang grinned at that, leaning closer to the table as she did so. "Is that also why you gave her an arm pillow, too?"

"That was _not_ an arm pillow!" Just like that, Weiss matched Yang's grin with a glare, her eyes narrowing as she shot a look to the brawler. "You know full well that we were both carrying her, and that she simply refused to let go when we set her down! T-to call it anything else is just baseless slander!"

"W-what?"

Nora was at a loss, and the girl turned her eyes towards the two. However, no answer came, the blonde-haired girl simply cackling wildly while the white-haired girl had a permanent glare fixed on her face, both aspiring-huntresses ignoring the Valkyrie as they drew the attention of the rest of the room. Slowly, Nora turned her gaze towards her friend, her brow raised in worry as she gave him a look. "Err... Ren?"

"Don't worry about it, Nora. For now, you should probably eat something."

And with that, her childhood friend pushed one of the trays forward, a plateful of delicious pancakes sliding into view as the Valkyrie slowly settled her sights on the food. A growl echoed from her stomach, a single sound that reminded Nora of how famished she really was, and slowly, the girl took hold of the plastic fork. Still, she gave one last worried stare towards her partner, before finally settling on the food. "O-okay..."

"You as well, Ruby. You should probably get a new tray before the cafeteria runs out of food."

Oh, right. Ruby.

Ren's words swiftly reminded all of them that Ruby was still attached to Nora's waist. Well, was attached. Without warning, the hooded girl immediately pulled away from Nora, a mortified look quickly forming on her face as she turned her attention behind her, eyes drawn to the now-discarded food tray that littered the cafeteria floor.

"... My cookies..."

* * *

This was it. The fruits of their labour.

Well, that was one way of saying it, but as Nora Valkyrie stood in the auditoriu—Oops, the _Amphitheatre_. Beacon didn't have an auditorium, after all. Anyways, as she stood in the amphitheatre, she couldn't help but look towards the rest of the room in awe.

Students from the initiation all lined up, shoulder to shoulder as they stood at the ready. Of course, she and her friends were no different, and the girl had to suppress her giddiness as she stared at the massive screen in anticipation.

Without warning, four faces flickered, and the headmaster's voice echoed out.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark."

As that voice filled the room, the Valkyrie couldn't help but frown. After all... There was absolutely no mistaking it. The Ozpin of Beacon Academy, and the Ozpin that she knew were inexplicably tied in some way. Not that she could ask what that connection was, since the girl had seen neither the mini-coffee-gremlin nor the shoulder-lady since she woke up. Instead, the girl was left to stew in her own worries and doubts as the ceremony continued.

Well... That is, if she _chose_ to. As the four students made their way forward, Nora resolved to ignore the issue for now. After all, this was an important event, and one that she wouldn't ignore just because her usual sources of confusion decided to behave today. Instead, she kept her eyes forward and upwards, attention fixed at the ceremony as the massive screen in the background showed their faces.

"The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, henceforth known as Team Cardinal, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

A thunderous noise echoed outwards, and Nora quickly joined the rest of the applause as it filled the room. Yet, as the sound died down, a nervous look fell on the girl's face. Who exactly was she going to be paired up with? If she remembered correctly, Weiss had retrieved the...

Nora blinked, then turned towards her partner.

"Psst. Psssssst. Weiss."

" _Shh!_ "

Unfortunately, her partner completely ignored her, arms crossed as she stood forward. W-well... At least it wouldn't matter too much, right? Either way, she'll be finding out who the rest of her team is shortly.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren."

As familiar names rose up, the girl quieted herself, immediately fixing her eyes forward. Hopefully, she'd be partnered with Renny.

"Yang Xiao Long. Pyrrha Nikos."

Aww... she wasn't. Oh well! At least Ren will have a friend with Yang and... wait. Yang wasn't partnered with Ruby? Her eyes widened at this, before turning a look towards the tiny hooded girl. Unfortunately, Ruby was just as engrossed in the ceremony as her own partner was, so there was absolutely nothing to help with Nora's curiosity.

"The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JYRN, henceforth known as Team Geranium, led by... Jaune Arc!"

Nora wasn't too sure what to think of that. Then again... Ren and Jaune were partners, and Ren was awesome, so they would probably be okay. And, after all, Ren seemed satisfied by the whole thing, so the girl decided not to worry too much about the team. Instead, she joined in with the applause once more, smiling as she waited for everything to die down.

"And finally,"

Oh boy! It was her turn now!

"Weiss Schnee. Nora Valkyrie."

Eeee! She was practically beaming, and from the corner of her eyes, Nora could see a clear smile on her partner's face as well. Both of them made their way forward, ready to learn the rest of their team.

"Ruby Rose. Blake Belladonna."

...wait, who?

Nora's attention shifted from her partner to the other two girls, and just like that, the Valkyrie's hopes disappeared. Not because of Ruby, of course, since Ruby was an awesome friend. No... It was because of Ruby's partner.

Without a word, the Valkyrie stared at a certain face, one that she clearly recognized. How could she not? There was no way she could mistake the complicated glance that was returned to her, as a particular girl with long, black hair and narrowed, amber eyes returned her gaze.

"The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RNBW, henceforth known as Team Rainbow, led by... Ruby Rose!"

Nora ignored the surprised yelp of her partner. Instead, she tried to find some sort of silver lining.

... A-at least she knew the name of that one girl from last night, right? You know, the one who definitely thinks she's crazy?

" _Congratulations._ "

* * *

 _ **A/N: I have no words. I apologize for the terrible delay, and really... anything I say will probably just end up as nothing more than an excuse. I can only hope that this update makes up for it somewhat. I shall endeavor to be more timely in the following months.**_


	14. When Classes Haven't Even Started Yet?

**Chapter 14: Why Are Things So Troubling When Classes Haven't Even Started Yet?**

* * *

"It looks like things are shaping up to be... an interesting year."

Nora shivered as she heard the headmaster mutter to himself, his voice drowned out by the applause that now filled the amphitheatre. She mentally panicked when she saw that the man had _noticed_ her shiver, forcing herself to calm down as she immediately turned to face ... something else. The audience, maybe? Or perhaps the giant holo-display screens. Anything, to calm her down.

Not like she could help it or anything, though. Her unease was a conditioned side-effect that had been born from her exposure to Mini-Ozman's constant obscure words and speeches, especially the ones that had the whole ominous undertones. Was it really her fault that the not-tiny headmaster spoke in the exact same way? ... Actually, the moment she had that thought, the Valkyrie furrowed her brow, her previous expression of surprise changing into a more worried almost-frown.

Why _did_ the two Ozpins have the exact same mannerisms? Was it just her mistake in reading their habits? Or was it something more?

The Valkyrie resolved herself to get some actual answers from the portable headache the first chance that she could get; he promised, after all. Both of them did! But unfortunately, it wasn't like she could question them right at this moment. The two tiny shoulder-people were nowhere to be seen, as always the case whenever the normal Ozpin was nearby. As such, the orange-haired girl was left to her own thoughts, her eyes glancing around the giant hall as she tried to push her thoughts away.

Soon, her gaze fell to Renny's team, and her mood immediately rose up as she changed her goal from 'worrying about Ozpin' to 'tackle-hugging Ren'. A playful smile formed on her face as she waved at Team... Geranium, right? That's a flower! And she knew, because Ren taught her back when they were littler! Either way, she waved at Team Geranium, fully intent greeting her best friend with her best hug, only to have her hopes dashed as one of the teacher people led them off the stage.

Before she could question why, a different teacher motioned to her team next, a tall one with spiky green hair that had a sorta-patient look on his face. And when she said sorta-patient, she meant... well, he didn't look _super_ -patient, like Ren's usual meditation-y calmness that he always wore, but the teacher didn't have the quiet kinda-frustrated face either! You know, the one that Weiss currently had?

Wait, why was she-

"Miss Rose." Ozpin's calm voice broke all of Team Rainbow from their silence, quiet yet audible as the headmaster gestured towards the green-haired teacher, stepping a bit closer to the four as he gave Team RNBW an understanding smile. "Could you and your team follow Doctor Oobleck, please? After all, while I do have one last address to give to the students, there is still something you four need to do. I'm sure all of you would rather learn about your dormitory and academic assignments than some tired speech."

Oops. They were sorta in the way, weren't they?

Both Nora and Ruby gave a sheepish cough, and all four of them silently nodded at the headmaster they stepped off-stage. It didn't take long for Doctor Oobleck to hand them their Scrolls, nor did it take long for him to show them all the super-convenient stuff they now had access to. Maps, schedules, messaging... everything she needed to know was here in the palm of her hand! Even better than that, the scroll itself was zap resistant, water resistant, and shock resistant too! There was no way anything could go wrong!

N-Not that she'd planned on testing out those last bits. She knew better than to get so worked up with shiny dust-powered things like that. So, without really saying much of anything, the Valkyrie began poking at her Scroll, reading up on all the important information things as she followed her team out of the amphitheatre.

And as they stepped out...

"I'm so proud of you, sis!"

A smile formed on Nora's face as a certain blonde leapt into view, practically tackling her newly appointed team leader the moment they had stepped out into the hallway. Her leader protested for a split second, a loud squeak that drew the attention of a fair amount of people as Ruby Rose struggled in her older sister's arms. She couldn't struggle for long however, and Yang's grip proved superior as the young leader's face quickly turned from surprise into a resigned pout.

"Yaaang. D-Do you have that to do it here?" Ruby's face was red with embarrassment, trying to motion to the curious onlookers in the background with a tilt of her head, even as she reluctantly ceased her struggles.

"Of course I do, Ruby!" Unfortunately for the hooded huntress, Yang was having none of her protests as the blonde pulled her into a tighter hug. Instead, her antics intensified as the brawler immediately began ruffling her hair, all while her vice-like hug prevented her sister from fleeing. "After all, you're the leader of your very own team now! I mean sure, it sucks that we're not on the same team and all, but just wait until Dad hears about this!"

Even Nora couldn't help but give Yang a look, the brawler's voice raising up to fill the hall as people suddenly had somewhere they needed to be. Silver eyes shot out as Ruby looked to her team, silently pleading for assistance as the tiny leader's gaze turned from Blake to Weiss, then from Weiss to the Valkyrie herself. And while the first two wore unconcerned or mortified expression respectively, Nora herself had an inquisitive look on her face, silent as she stared at her team leader. She wasn't exactly sure what Ruby wanted her to do, but whatever the case might've been, she was willing to help.

Her orders came immediately, a slight smile on Ruby's face as she shot a silent look at Nora, then at Yang's constrictive arms. More to the point, the hooded huntress-in-training focused on the things attached to her sister's arms, as Nora's attention was drawn completely to the distinctive yellow gauntlets that covered each of the older sibling's wrists. Comprehension flashed in the Valkyrie's eyes, and she quickly gave her leader a final nod. Nora wasn't quite sure _what_ her leader wanted her to do with them, but all that meant was that she needed to follow her lead.

A smile flashed on Ruby's face as she made her move, jabbing her sister in the side with a sudden, unexpected attack. The older sibling certainly didn't expect it, not when Ruby had apparently surrendered herself to the hug, and could only let out a confused 'bwuh!' as Ruby sped off down the hall, disappearing in a puff of petals. With one of Yang's gauntlets in her grasp, no less. Everyone heard the leader of Team RNBW as she disappeared from view, her triumphant laugh ringing through the halls.

Having witnessed Ruby's silly actions, as well as the state of her first—or was it second? The two sisters were kind of tied—friend at Beacon, there was only one thing Nora could do in response. Without wasting another moment, taking full advantage of the stunned brawler, Nora swiped Yang's other gauntlet and sped off in the opposite direction.

"Book it! Our fearless leader compels us!"

But not before she made sure her partner was with her! Since they didn't have enough time to explain the plan to the rest of her teammates, Nora had no choice but to take hold of Weiss's hand, the heiress giving off a confused yelp as she quickly led them away. Part of her also wanted to make sure that Ruby's partner was okay, but... Honestly, she was like 80, maybe 86 percent sure that Blake was some kind of a ninja. Based on intuition alone, she was quite certain that the black-bowed teenager of her team could take care of herself.

Which was great, because Nora was also 100 percent sure that Blake thought she was insane, and she _really_ didn't want to talk with her yet.

"Wait, what're we...?"

So really, all Nora had to do was make sure Weiss was okay, and that Yang wasn't suddenly trying to chase them down. Fortunately, the only thing she head behind them was the sound of fading screams, which meant that Yang was getting further away. Which also meant that they were free, and she coul-

"Nora, watch out!"

"Watch out for what?"

Her answer came in the form of a crash, as the two girls barrelled directly into Glynda Goodwitch.

* * *

"Honestly, you two..." Miss Goodwitch sounded more tired than disappointed when she spoke, her words slow and heavy as she stared at the two huntresses-in-training. "I understand some of your excitement, especially since you're both officially Beacon students now. However, please do not forget the responsibilities that lie with such a title; you are both formal representatives of the school now, and must conduct yourselves appropriately."

Both Nora and her partner nodded, staying quiet as they stood inside one of the empty classrooms. Well, Weiss was staying quiet, but Nora couldn't quite do the same, forcing herself not to say anything as since she reeeaaally wanted to clear up everything. After all, this wasn't exactly her partner's fault, and she didn't want her friend to get in trouble just because she had been a bit over-eager with something.

"... Is there something you'd like to say, Miss Valkyrie?"

"Mmhmm!" At Glynda's words, Nora's expression changed, her previous concern turning into a more optimistic smile as she nodded at her teacher's words.

Weiss's expression also changed, though hers grew worse for some reason. Nora wasn't sure why her partner's face had turned into a look of pure horror, since this was their chance to explain themselves. Maybe it had something to do with Weiss being unable to answer? Like she said, it _was_ Nora's fault that they zooped off in the first place, which meant that it was also her fault they had ran Goodwitch.

"In that case, please do. I would love to know why you two were sprinting through the halls with such reckless disregard for everything around you. Not to mention why you're currently in possession with a weapon that clearly does not belong to either of you."

"Well, you see..."

Nora was really glad that Glynda was so nice and understanding about this. She gave Weiss an encouraging smile, still not sure why her friend was so wide-eyed about this, before turning back to face Miss Goodwitch. "Yang was congratulating Ruby after the speech, but Ruby was all embarrassed about her hug and asked for help with escaping! Not that she asked for help with words or anything, 'cause she was being super-hugged by Yang at the time, but with her eyes and sheer leader-ness and stuff!"

"...'Leader-ness'?"

"Yeah! And since we're team now, as well as also almost-best-friends, I _had_ to help! So she snuck-attacked her sister with a poke, and then ran off down the hall with one of Yang's glove things! I, being the super-awesome teammate that I am, did the same and ran off in the other direction!" Nora held up the glove, clearly showing it off with a playful grin, even as she heard a slap echo out from her partner beside her. "Oh, right! And I also took Weiss and ran off with her, since we're teammates and stuff! So... it really wasn't Weiss's fault when we ran into you. Please don't get angry at her?"

There was a moment of silence. Glynda's stared at the Valkyrie for a good few seconds, before slowly turning her gaze over to the white-dressed heiress, not saying a single word as she leaned back against the wall. For some reason, the blonde teacher released a sigh, one hand raising up to her head as she began massaging her temple. Was she okay? Maybe she was stressed with all the speech preparation stuff or something. Ooh, or maybe Ozpin was just as unbearable as the shoulder-Ozpin, and Glynda's stress was mounting up from that?

... Oh, who was she kidding? Nora knew exactly why the teacher was making such an expression, and the girl also knew that it was entirely her fault. Not only had she gotten carried away again, she had also somehow dragged Weiss into trouble with her. Really, the Valkyrie was quite certain that she was the worst partner in the entire history of Beacon. Slowly, her eyes shifted away from Glynda and back down to the floor, her previous expression deflating to one of shamed silence.

"Well, it seems to me that Miss Valkyrie has learned her lesson." A voice rose up, and all three of the room's inhabitants turned to the source, as a certain headmaster stood at the doorway with a fresh mug of coffee in his hand. He gave Glynda a smile, gesturing his mug towards Nora moment, completely unimposing in his motions as he stepped into the room. "Wouldn't you agree, Glynda?"

And then Miss Goodwitch's expression fell further. Not only that, but she also let out another heavy sigh, one that sounded far worse than her most recent one. The teacher's eyes were distant as she gradually took in a deep breath, eventually managing to compose herself. Pushing up the front of her glasses, the blonde teacher Ozpin a perfectly neutral, perfectly professional look, her voice steady as she finally responded. "... If you say so, Ozpin."

Wait, did this mean that Nora was actually _right_ about the whole Ozpin-stress thing? Nora couldn't help but blink at that, giving Glynda a curious stare as the older woman made her way to the door.

"Since you consider this resolved, Headmaster, then I must take my leave." Glynda was extra-professional, talking in a way that reminded Nora of Ren whenever she did something that was kind-of bad. Sorta like the tone he used at the end of a particularly long day? She wasn't quite sure how to describe it. "There is still an outstanding _issue_ that I need to resolve with Peter before his class tomorrow."

"You're looking Peter? If I'm not mistaken..." Ozpin's voice trailed off, and as she heard the _tone_ of the headmaster's voice, warning bells began ringing in the back of Nora's mind. Those same bells must've echoed in Miss Goodwitch as well, as Nora saw the teacher suddenly stop, her shoulder's tensing for a fraction of a second as she gave the headmaster a curious stare. A stare that he ignored as he continued to speak. "... Well, he's at the administrative offices at the moment. If you are heading that way, do you suppose you could bring Miss Schnee with you? If I recall, someone from SDC was there earlier today, asking for her presence with something. I believe it was something about a package?"

A look of recognition shot up in Weiss's face, but she remained silent, choosing instead to give a silent nod to the Headmaster before turning to Miss Goodwitch. The blonde teacher gave a final sigh, her eyes fixed on the headmaster for a few seconds before finally falling to Nora's partner. "Very well. Please, this way, Miss Schnee."

"I'll... See you back at the dorm?" Nora's voice was quiet, practically pleading as she watched the two leave. She was quite sure that her partner could hear her desperate tone, too, but Weiss only gave her a simple nod before she followed Glynda out, causing the Valkyrie's mood to fall further. Not because she was being left behind or anything—well not _just_ that—but because it was clear to her that Ozpin wanted to speak with her alone. Maybe.

...Maybe she actually had a chance.

"W-well, thank you for being so understanding, Professor Ozpin! But, uh, I'd better head back to my dorm! Need to return Yang's thingy and all that!" The moment Weiss and Glynda disappeared, Nora began to make her way to the door, her steps deliberately measured as she forced herself not to-

"Miss Valkyrie, may I have a word with you?"

-Panic.

* * *

By the time she made it back to her dorm, it was night.

Okay, it was probably more accurate to say that it was early evening, but either way, the sun was setting and it was getting dark. Part of her wanted to head down to the cafeteria to try and get some food, but there was no doubt it'd be crowded at this time, and the Valkyrie felt more exhausted than famished at the moment. The minute she realized that the RNBW dorm room was empty, she made her decision.

Well, okay, first she turned off the light because it was wasteful, _then_ she made her decision.

With no one around to tell her otherwise, Nora claimed the closest bed, immediately flopping on the soft mattress as she wormed her way into the sheets. This was _her_ bed now, and she would be making full use of it. After everything that had happened today, she wanted nothing more than to sleep.

... But despite getting a new safe haven, as well as the respectable foofiness of her newly-claimed pillow, Nora was still unable push away the fatigue that clouded her mind. How could she, given what she had just been through?

Nora hadn't exactly been _interrogated_ by the Headmaster, but it was still quite clear to her that he had been trying to gather information. His questions were innocent enough at first, and for a few moments, she even thought that he was just being genuinely curious about her thoughts of Beacon. The first few things they talked about were mostly normal topics, like the things related to the initiation. You know, "What sort of landing strategy did you use?", "How do you feel about your team?", "Did you have any difficulties in getting your relic?". Stuff like that!

Not that she dropped her guard. It was a bit weird for a headmaster to be asking this, right?

Her doubts were only strengthened when his next set of questions reminded her that the entire thing had been recorded. They were far more specific than the first, and each one only worried Nora more and more. Sure, the question about her Ursakart was pretty understandable, as was the concern he raised when their group had to deal with three giant grimm... But then he started bringing up more pointed questions, like how injured she looked after being dismounted from the Ursakart by the Deathstalker, and how impressed he was to see her aura still intact despite it. Then there was her landing strategy and the injuries she had sustained during _that_.

But the kicker was when he mentioned how he was glad that Nora had managed to stumble on Weiss in that clearing, as well as how relieved he was when Glynda had caught up with them later, in order to ensure they teamed up. He stressed that last part, especially since he said couldn't _hear_ what sort of thing they were arguing over.

Nora rolled around on her bed, groaning with equal parts exhaustion and frustration as she stared at the ceiling. Despite how normal those questions technically were on the surface, it was clear to the Valkyrie that Ozpin suspected something. A lot of somethings.

What made it worse was that she wouldn't be able to deny anything if he had actually brought up the important bits of footage and asked her directly; Besides her awesome Ursakart, everything else she did during the initiation was weird. Everything, from how she deliberately flew off during her flight path, to how her aura had apparently been a different _colour_ during the whole Deathstalker thing, to how she had been _literally talking to herself_ from the moment she crashed until she had found Weiss.

She was in a corner. Worse than that, she was stuck inside some cabinet locked within a secure desk that was in a corner! And things were so dire, she didn't even care if that metaphor didn't work! The moment Ozpin decides to ask her a direct question, she'd be doomed. Or half-doomed at the very least, since she wouldn't know how to answer him in the slightest. And it was all _their fault_. If only she knew where they-

"Team Rainbow? Seriously?" Nora's froze, immediately turning towards the source of a very familiar voice, her eyes wide as she spotted two tiny figures on the bookshelf beside her bed. They either didn't notice the Valkyrie's troubles, or else they simply didn't care, choosing not to acknowledge her at all as the miniature individuals stood on the piece of furniture. With their back turned to her while they stared at something atop the shelf. "Please tell me that he didn't choose that ridiculous word _just_ so he could have their names in the team."

Mini-Ozpin only offered a cough, turning away from Cinder as his eyes fell to the other side of the room. Thankfully, it was the side that Nora wasn't on, which meant that neither of them could see her as she crept closer towards them.

"You know what? Nevermind. Just... tell me that that name was chosen because of how everything is different here, and that it's _not_ due to some horrible naming sense that's inherent to him as a character. Inherent to _you_ as a character." Cinder's voice was low, filled with resignation rather than her usual venom as she turned her gaze towards her male counterpart. Yet, Ozpin said nothing and the room was quiet. Which meant that Nora had to stop her sneaking thing for a moment.

Just a moment, though.

"No. _You're kidding_. Is this really who I've been fighting against this entire time? A remorseless utter fool with a completely rotten mind, dead set on producing useless tripe like that?" Cinder's shoulders sagged, her voice practically pleading to the air as she hung her head in shame. All this was was more time they spent not paying attention to Nora, and after a few more seconds, the Valkyrie had eventually crept up behind them. "I don't know whether to be relieved or infuriated that you're an _idiot_."

"Erm... Ahem." The only thing Ozpin could do was cough, as he slowly turned his gaze away from the empty corner back to face the red-dressed woman. "In my defense, the task of assigning unique, inspiring names to teams of Huntsmen and Huntresses is a taxing burden, and one tha-"

"Team Rainbow, Ozpin. _Rainbow_."

"Well, I'd like to see you try bett-"

" _Where the heck were you guys?!_ " Nora hissed with all the strength and wrath of a raging... thunderstorm? Well, she was trying not to be too loud, so more of a raging stun baton or something. Either way, the two shoulder-people flinched at her sudden appearance, immediately turning away from their stupid conversation as they looked up towards the Valkyrie. "Do you know how much trouble we'r-... What is that?"

But before she could properly exert her anger, Nora's attention was pulled away by the curious sight of a cup-full of flags. Like, a literal ceramic cup that was filled with tiny flags. The same kind of tiny flags that people used to wave around in sport events and stuff. Even in the dark, she could see that these things were a multi-coloured mess of fabric, with the letters RNBW emblazoned on them and the word "Rainbow" stitched beneath. They were... surprising.

"I do believe that those are Miss Rose's first contribution to her newly appointed team." Ozpin's tone was cordial and matter-of-fact, acting all informative as he took a sip from his mug before turning away. "She has acquired quite a bit of memorabilia, and I suspect that it's all for the sake of improving team cohesion and morale."

"... Bwuh?"

"Banners, posters, thermoses... It seems she has even acquired some casual attire, too." As if it were perfectly natural to talk about, Ozpin continued his words, pointing his cane from object to object each time he mentioned them. "A few of them are even quite practical. For instance, I believe you could make use of that wide-brimmed hat over there, should you ever see a need to hide yourself from view."

"Why would I need to hide..." Nora stared dumbly at a decorated RNBW sombrero for a few moments, unable to even process its existence. "Wait, no! Stop fooling around!"

But only a few moments. Then, her fist came down on the bookshelf, slamming right in-between the two as she stared at them, a gesture that spoke volumes about her anger. At least, it would've, if it wasn't for the fact that her little outburst was less of a slam and more of a light tap; She didn't want to break a bookshelf, after all. Either way, it was enough to get their attention, and Nora continued her train of thought. "This is important! Where were you two earlier?"

"If you ask _him_ , we'll be here all day." Cinder scoffed at the tiny headmaster, rolling her eyes before turning back up towards Nora. "But to answer your question, we have been resting. In case you forgot, you borrowed quite a bit of power from us yesterday, all because you were reckless and foolish in your silly little game. Or did you honestly forget how much time and effort you wasted yesterday, when you flailed about in that ridiculous forest?"

"Hey! If you're going to blame me for that, then blame yourselves as well! I only acted that way because you two were being difficult!" She wasn't quite sure who to point her finger at, but it was definitely one of those two, and honestly, Nora probably could've gotten away with pinning it on both. "And of course I didn't forget! I _couldn't_ forget! In case you didn't notice, I just got out of an interrogation thingy with _Ozpin_."

The two shoulder-people froze at that statement, both of their eyes growing wide for a split second before they turned away. Cinder's expression quickly turned to one of anger, her fists clenched as she swore to herself, while Ozpin brought on a more thoughtful look as he stared at his mug.

"How much did you tell him? How much does he suspect? How much did you _screw up?_ " The long-haired woman's eyes were narrow as she glared at the Valkyrie.

"I don't know. _How can I?_ " And Nora glared back. "How am I supposed to know whether I'm doing the right thing or not if you two refuse to tell me anything? I still don't know who—or what—you're supposed to be! How am I supposed to guess what your stupid plans are? All I know is that you two want to be idiots and fight each other for no sensible reason!"

The room fell silent. The two shoulder-people had a worried look on their faces, and the Valkyrie became painfully aware of how loud she was shouting.

Which was to say, she wasn't loud at all. Because unlike the last time she had this little outburst, Nora wasn't going to screw anything up. This time, the Valkyrie had paid attention to her surroundings, had made sure there was no way she'd be interrupted, because the two shoulder people had already ruined things! Who knows how many problems they'd caused for her in the past... Day! _It's barely been a day!_

So yeah, she wasn't going to screw this up now. The room had been empty when she arrived, and no one had approached their dorm since. She _knew_ this, because she kept an ear out for footsteps and voices. And look! Even now, the door was still closed, and no one had coincidentally wandered in at some obscurely coincidental time! What a coincidence! And that meant that Nora was free to continue gritting her teeth as she glared down at the two.

"I... suppose we owe you much." Finally, Ozpin began to speak. And finally, he began to make some sense. "But before we begin, I must inform you that this may not be the best time or place for such sensitive topics."

"Oh no you don't! This is the perfect time and place for _such sensitive topics_. You've owed me since yesterday, since before the initiation. _Since before we even arrived at Vale!_ " Her voice got a bit louder with every breath she took, and her teeth clenched a bit more with every word she hissed out. "So don't you dare tell me that this isn't the time!"

"She's made her decision, Ozpin." The tiny woman crossed her arms, quickly turning away from both the miniature headmaster and Nora herself as she stared at some other spot in the room. "If she _wants_ someone uninvolved to eavesdrop on her, that's her short-sighted decision to make."

Nora blinked, not quite sure what Cinder was talking about. However, she wasn't about to stand there dumbly and wait to find out; instead, Nora followed the woman's gaze, her eyes slowly shifting across the room, before finally falling on a pile of discarded clothing on the bed furthest. By now, she had gotten used to the dimness of the room, which was why she had noticed that, at that moment, the top part of the clothing _twitched_.

That's also when she noticed that the top-most piece of fabric wasn't a coat or some crumpled up uniform or something—it was a bow. A large bow that was usually fixated atop a certain black-haired woman's long black hair.

"... Blake?"

Slowly, the bow rose, revealing familiar black hair, then a young woman who wore utter confusion clear on her face, amber eyes widened as Blake Belladonna stared at the Valkyrie. Just like that, whatever wrath or frustration the Nora felt had dissipated, replaced once more by that overly familiar sense of alienation and dread. Slowly, gradually, she began to spoke, her voice soft and filled with fear as she stared at the other huntress-in-training. "Why were... Were you there the whole time?"

Her teammate only nodded, the black-haired teen struggling for any other response.

"What about Ruby or... Weiss?" Nora's next words were even more fragile, barely a whisper.

"They... They should still be eating. They left a little before you arrived. I fel-..." That was all her teammate said, unable to mutter much else as her words became muted again. But as she heard that, Nora seemed to relax a bit, her eyes slowly falling back to the bookshelf as she pulled away from Blake's concerned face. As she settled her gaze back to the two tiny people, the Valkyrie barely heard her teammate's soft-spoken question. "...What are you...?"

"In that case... **IT'S FINE, ISN'T IT?** " Nora's eyes were wide now, her jaw clenched as she half-yelled and half-hissed through her teeth. She was sure that she looked crazed more than anything else at this point. But that's okay! After all... " **Everything's fine!** It's just Blake, after all!"

"W-what do you mean by 'just me'?"

In stark contrast to Nora's voice, Blake's words were far more subdued, a mix between confused and incredulous as she threw an uneasy glance at the Valkyrie. And the moment she heard her teammate's tone, the fire disappeared from the Valkyrie's eyes, immediately turning back towards her teammate as she gave her an apologetic look. "Oh, Sorry Blakey! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Blakey...?"

"Yeah, that was Yang's nickname for you, right? But anyways! I didn't mean to offend you!" She tried to push that particular issue aside, smiling at the black-bowed girl for a few moments longer before turning back to the bookshelf one final time. "What I meant was, it doesn't matter if you hear me or not!"

Blake was silent. Or maybe she was just too quiet for Nora to hear, now that the Valkyrie had settled back on the matters at hand. It didn't matter either way, as the Valkyrie turned her attention back to the two shoulder-people, her piercing glare boring into them as she finally spoke out once more.

"After all... **She already thinks I'm crazy because of you two.** _**So talk.**_ "

The air was still for a few moments, filled with nothing but the sound of the Nora's heavy breaths, the only thing that regulated her anger at this point. That silence was soon broken an awkward cough, and while she wasn't sure if it came Cinder, Ozpin, or Blake, it frankly didn't matter to the Valkyrie. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed on the two, showing absolutely no indication of backing down as she crossed her arms in an angry stare.

"So be it." Finally, Ozpin broke. He released a sigh, slowly setting his cup aside, the ceramic mug disappearing from existence as he released it. Then, he straightened his back, both hands resting on his cane as looked up to face Nora properly. "Since you confronted us with such resolve, we have no choice but to answer it. Miss Fall, if you'd please."

Cinder grumbled but said nothing, merely nodding at Ozpin's words as she too raised her back, the woman's eyes gazing up at Nora with a tired resignation. For a few seconds, nothing happened... But soon, Nora felt the faint tinge of aura, the barely perceptible mark of two fragmented souls as they hovered in front of her. Dim by themselves, faded marks of orange and green gradually sparked into view, a dull hum that barely shimmered in the darkened room.

There was a faint gasp of confusion from Blake's part of the room, but the Valkyrie didn't care. After all, these two idiots were finally going to talk. They were finally going to tell her their story.

"I suppose the best way for us to explain it would be like this." Ozpin's voice was faint, a whisper in the wind that echoed in her very mind.

"Tell me, Miss Valkyrie... If you were given the chance to correct any mistake in your life... would you?"


	15. At Least Things Aren't All Bad

**Chapter 15: At Least Things Aren't All Bad**

* * *

" _ **No.**_ " Nora's response was immediate as she stared at the tiny headmaster, her eyes narrowing into a tiny glare as she frowned. In case it wasn't obvious, the Valkyrie was not amused, and immediately cut off Mini-Ozpin as he began to talk.

Apparently, the coffee gremlin did not expect her response, his eyes widening behind his glasses as Ozpin stared up at the orange-haired huntress-in-training. For just a moment, he remained perfectly still, searching her face as he read the Valkyrie's expression. In return, Nora's frown only deepened, causing the tiny man avert his eyes, looking away in response. Rather than speak, the man settled his eyes towards his female counterpart, shooting a concerned glance to maybe-partner maybe-archnemesis.

Nora followed his gaze, her own expression of disapproval not fading in the slightest as she watched for Cinder's response. Not that the tiny shoulder-woman did much of anything, as she stood in silence much the same way Ozpin had done. Amber eyes stared back at her, one brow raised as the shoulder-woman crossed her arms in confused silence, staring back up towards the Valkyrie.

Ozpin's voice finally broke the silence, his tone solemn as he settled his gaze back upwards. "...Truly? If I may be frank, Miss Valkyrie, I find that quite hard to beli-"

" _No._ As in, you're not going to pull any cryptic stuff this time." And whatever somber tone the two shoulder-people carried quickly faded away. The Valkyrie quickly clarified herself, immediately interrupting the shoulder-person's words as she released an irritated sight. "I mean, c'mon! I just asked who you two were! Why do you suddenly need to go into a long speech about mistakes and stuff?"

"... Because it's important."

Surprisingly, it was Cinder who answered her, the woman's tone far softer than anything she had used before. The hammer-wielder couldn't help but turn her attention to the red-garbed lady. After all, while it sounded like the two had agreed to do the explanation thingy, Nora hadn't actually expected the Cinder to explain things alongside the Ozman, since they hated each other.

"Because, as insufferable he may be, and as much as I want him _dead_ , nothing changes the fact that we're both here for... similar reasons." Cinder clenched a fist as she spoke, her eyes drifting downwards and as she did so, suppressing a hiss before she continued her words. "I'm here because there's something I _need_ to change. And he's here because, despite all that he's already ruined, he still seems to think there's something worse he could do."

Ozpin raised a hand in denial at those words, but a glare from both Cinder and Nora put a stop to any words he might've uttered. Instead, he simply shook his head, denying part of the woman's story in silence. In turn, Cinder's voice ceased after that, and Nora's expression slowly changed, her gaze shifting from disapproval to concerned doubbt as she stared at the two.

Just like that, the dull hue of orange and green that permeated the air seemed to flicker, a foreboding shift of colour as Cinder and Ozpin stood in stark silence.

"So... The reason you're both here is because you're trying to correct a mistake?" The Valkyrie's tone was cautious as she took in the tiny woman's words. Nora understood making mistakes, of course—she knew how much trouble she caused Ren, after all—but the teenage hammer-wielder couldn't begin to fathom what sort of mistake would require killing someone, just to fix it. Or to drag in someone completely unrelated to do it! And that's ignoring the fact that they were trying to do so in the form of cartoon-shoulder-people!

...Wait a minute. That detail was kind of important, wasn't? Yet, despite their solemn tone and cryptic words, neither of the two had mentioned anything about their current pocket-sized tiny-person-mode! Rather then grow silent like the two tiny strangers, Nora voiced her concern, leaning closer to the shelf that they stood upon.

"But how does trying to correct a mistake end with you two being cartoon characters? And why are you two trying to involve _me_ in it?" Nora gave a slight pause as she spoke, her eyes settling on the two as the corner of her lips slowly curled downwards, contemplating her own words as she leaned down closer to them. Ozpin and Cinder both caught the change in her tone, but both chose to remain silent as the huntress-in-training grumbled her next words. "Why are you two trying to _use_ me?"

The room fell still at the Valkyrie's question, whatever activity the three had caused fading away to an awkward silence once more.

"I thought you said she was the stupid one."

Okay, maybe not. Cinder turned to face her male counterpart, completely ignoring Nora's defiance at the woman's words. Of course, Nora couldn't let this slide, and her judgemental stare immediate returned to a complete glare as her gaze followed Cinder's. As two sets of eyes bore down on the tiny headmaster, Ozpin tried to maintain his composure, coughing slightly as he took a drink from his mug.

"Please try to refrain from exacerbating the situation further, Miss Fall." Cinder scoffed at the man's words, making no effort to maintain composure, their previous understanding with one another falling away entirely, as though it had been nothing more than an illusion. "What I said was, Miss Valkyrie was the most impulsive of her team. Not that she was foolish."

"No. You made it quite clear that you considered her... how did you put it?" Ozpin slouched away from the woman as she brought a single finger up to her cheek, her eyes rolling upwards in mock contemplation. That only lasted for a few seconds, however, and the sarcastic droll that followed was unmistakable. "Ah, yes. The 'easiest to convince and gain assistance from', I believe it was."

"What the heck are you two talking about? And what was that about my team? Don't bring Team Rainbow into this!" By this time, Nora couldn't remain silent any longer. The woman brought her hands down on the desk, the first truly startling sound they've had since the entire conversation, and one that caused everyone to jump. Then, without missing a beat, the Valkyrie rose up once more, pointing across the room with both arms as she glared at them. "I mean, you've already dragged Blake into this madness!"

"That was entirely your fault and you know it." Cinder scoffed, rolling her eyes before shooting a quiet glare back to the miniature Ozpin.

Nora was about to retort, before she finally came to a realization. Despite being the one to mention it, the hammer-wielder was the last person to remember Blake's presence, and it wasn't until a few seconds after she had spoken that the hammer-wielder finally turned towards her teammate. Just like that, her irritation fell away.

To her credit, Blake Belladonna seemed to be taking it well.

Nora had expected to see fear or unease from the black-garbed huntress, what with having witnessed her near-hysterical breakdown and subsequent argument... but instead of anything approaching alarm, her teammate simply wore a look of incredulous confusion on her face. For all intents and purposes, Blake seemed stunned more than anything else. At least that was better than disdain, right? Still... with the way she was sitting at the moment, Nora couldn't help but worry.

"Are you okay, Blake?" Concern rose up in Nora's words as she stared at the girl, not quite sure how her teammate hadn't fallen over yet. For some reason, the black-garbed huntress was leaning over the edge of her mattress, paying no attention to her surroundings as amber eyes stared at the spot where Ozpin and Cinder stood. While Nora was a bit worried about whether or not Blake could see them. she was more concerned about how close her teammate was to falling over. As well as... Well, there was something she simply couldn't ignore.

"Hey, Blake? Why is your bow twitching?" That seemed to snap her from her thoughts, as her teammate's eyes shot from the shelf to Nora herself, the blank stare that had been present on Blake's face immediately replaced by a look of alarm. Nora wasn't quite sure why, but even she could tell that it had something to do with her bow... but what?

"Do not be alarmed, Miss Valkyrie. Those are merely her ears."

For some reason, Ozpin chose that moment to speak up, interrupting the confused jumble of a mess that was the Valkyrie's thoughts. She wasn't quite sure what the tiny man had meant by that, so without sparing another thought, the girl turned towards the miniature headmaster, confusion heavy in her tone.

"Her ears? What do you mean by th-"

And before Nora could finish her words, a frantic black-haired huntress tackled her onto the bed, Blake's hands frantically trying to muffle her mouth even as she heard the tell-tale 'poof' of a fleeing coffee gremlin.

* * *

Blake was panicking.

It didn't take a genius to figure it out, since Nora recognized her teammate's mood the moment she was forced backwards. Widened eyes, pumping blood, heightened twitchy-ness... Nora Valkyrie saw all the familiar signs of unmitigated fear, as her teammate's instincts seemed to rise out of control. Really, given every thing she saw, Nora couldn't come to any other conclusion besides unrestrained panic or excessive sugar intake.

"W-who exactly are you? How do you know about that?" Blake's voice hissed out, low and quiet as she pressed the sheathe of her weapon against Nora's chest. "What are you doing here?!"

Oh, right. She was also threatening her with a sword scabbard thing. That was also a sign of panic, wasn't it?

Were this any other person, in any other situation, Nora might've been a bit more confrontational. However, the Valkyrie knew first-hand how irrational a person could get when they were panicked, and given what little she knew about her friend's partner, the hammer-wielder didn't necessarily believe that the other teenager was acting maliciously. Which was why she tried her best to placate her teammate. "I-I'm Nora, remember? And I know about your bow twitching because your bow's still twitching! A-and I was yelling at the shoulder-people!"

"Not that!" The black-haired girl hissed once more, the frustration in her voice spilling into the air as she pushed the scabbard upwards. Into... err... into her own arm. Honestly, she seemed even more frazzled than Nora had been. "How do you know about my ears?"

"Because the shoulder-man mentioned them?"

Nora felt her teammate freeze the moment she spoke those words. Well okay, it was more of a mumble, since the other teenager was trying to question her and quiet her at the same time. Either way, Blake seemed to grow silent at the Valkyrie's admission, no longer trying to force her mouth shut as she stared into the hammer-wielder's eyes. In return, Nora stared back, making no effort to hide her words, speaking the complete—and completely absurd—truth.

"Are you _absolutely_ sure about that?" The voice of the black-haired teenager was level, and Nora couldn't quite tell whether her tone was supposed to be threatening, confused, or just stunned. Heck, she wasn't sure whether Blake knew. Either way, Nora responded to her question with a slow nod. Which only caused her teammate's eyes to turn away from her, as the bow-wearing huntress settled her gaze over to the spot where Ozpin and Cinder had once been. "... And he was standing over there?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Of all the reactions she had expected to see from her teammate, entertaining her delusions was pretty low on the list. The Valkyrie might've been impulsive, but she wasn't stupid the way Cinder and Ozpin had apparently thought of her, and Nora was quite aware of how she had just behaved. To anyone else, she had been screaming at an empty shelf, to say nothing of the fact that Blake's first impressions of her were probably less-than-stellar. The hammer-wielder honestly expected her teammate to just treat her like a crazy person.

Instead, Blake seemed to seriously consider the Valkyrie's words, drawing no small amount of confusion from the girl as the bow-wearing huntress rose upwards, slowly making her way to the now-empty shelf. What surprised Nora was _how_ she approached the shelf; her teammate wasn't just aimlessly looking at it. If anything, it was quite clear from the way she stared that Blake was looking at one very-specific spot. "There was one other, wasn't there? It wasn't just the one... 'Shoulder man', right?"

"... How did you know?" Nora widened her eyes at Blake's pointed question. She wasn't hiding Cinder's existence or anything like that, but the Valkyrie was fairly certain that she didn't go into any specifics back when she first tried to explain things to her teammate. Then again, she couldn't remember for sure, since the night before initiation seemed so long ago. Either way, she was surprised to hear Blake bringing it up so quickly.

"Because I saw them."

Oh. _Oh._ This... Nora wasn't quite sure how to react at this point. The Valkyrie still hadn't tackled the fact that there was a miniature version of her headmaster roaming around in the first place. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Blake's response to the tiny Ozpin would be. Slowly, she turned to face her teammate proper, trying to read the other girl's face as Nora stared intently at her.

Blake blinked. She looked less than amused, and after a few moments of silence, finally spoke up. "...I mean, I saw their aura. I didn't actually _see_ them."

"Oooh..." Well, that explained why she looked a lot less frazzled than Nora had expected. Still, the hammer-wielder never would've imagined her teammate to see the shoulder-people's aura, but now that she knew, it made sense. Of course she should've expected that. What else could she have...

Waitwhat. Since when did they have aura? Weren't the glowy lights just cartoon wizardry tricks? Honestly, she had assumed that most everything the two had, at least when it came to visual effects, were just there for the sake of being there as shoulder-people. Cinder's fire-poofs were never real fires, and even Ozpin's tiny cane and chair were just fake props! Heck, it wasn't like Ozpin's coffee was real coffee or anything either.

So how do they have aura?

Nora blinked at that question a bit longer, before the thinking part of her brain finally decided to chime in. Why was she surprised at that fact? After all, having Aura had nothing to do with committing cartoon shenanigans; it was just a thing that living things had. And it was quite clear to her that the miniature Ozpin and tiny Cinder were very real, very living things. She still wasn't sure what sort of things they were, but at the very least...

"I guess I can understand why you were so... panicked last night." Fortunately, either Blake didn't notice her internal argument and subsequent resolution, or she didn't care. Instead, her teammate turned away from the shelf, making her way back to her mattress as she sat down, voice heavy in thought. "But if that's the case, how exactly did the... 'shoulder guy' know?"

"Know what?" Nora took her place at her own bed, curiosity pointed to her teammate.

Blake returned the gaze with a deadpan stare "About my ears."

Oh yeah. The entire reason she panicked in the first place. Nora still didn't understand, since it was completely spur-of-the-moment. After all, she had just finished her own vehement shouting at the shoulder-people, so it seemed completely weird that things progressed the way it did. Besides, what did ears have anything to do with a twitching... bow...

"Wait..." Nora blinked, then turned to Blake with a curious stare, as her thoughts finally clicked into place. There was only one logical explanation, even if it didn't explain the whole panicked part of her teammate's reaction. Still, she had to ask. "You're a faunus?"

The black-haired huntress twitched at the question, obviously disturbed by it in some way. However, she said nothing, completely silent as she slowly nodded her head, amber eyes glued on the Valkyrie. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Oh, okay then." Huh. Learn something new everyday. Yay for meeting new people! Still, just because Blake was a faunus didn't exactly explain her reaction. With a curious look on her face, Nora turned back to her partner. "But... why exactly did you attack me like that?"

Immediately, Blake's face flushed with embarrassment, the girl releasing an awkward cough as she turned away. "I-I thought you might've... No, it's nothing."

No, it was certainly something. But still, Nora didn't pry. After all, even if she could tell that her teammate was hiding something, Nora didn't get the same sense of tone in her teammate that she did from Ozpin and Cinder. The two shoulder people hid things from Nora because they had probably wanted _something_ from her, but from the way Blake acted...

"Okay then!" Nora beamed, putting the situation behind her, pushing it completely out of sight and mind. It was clear that her partner was scared of something, and that it was something that Blake didn't want to speak about, so the Valkyrie dropped the issue. Instead, it was time for something else entirely! "So, what do you think about our classes tomorrow?"

"...You're not going to ask?" But, in spite of her efforts, doubts still lingered in her teammate's mind. Concern was clearly written on the black-haired huntress's face, her brow furrowed upwards in apprehension as Blake stared back at the Valkyrie. Even the way she spoke hinted at her worry, as her tone barely hummed above the silent air.

"Nope!" Nora's voice was in sharp contrast to her teammate's. Not only did she respond with clear certainty, she even popped the end of the word, just for silly emphasis. Honestly, it seemed like Blake no longer considered her crazy, which was reason enough to push the topic on. However, more importantly than that, Nora just didn't want to push the issue. "It's something that's bothering you and you don't wanna talk about it, so I won't!"

"Thanks..." Her teammate's voice seemed to linger for a moment, her eyes falling on Nora for a few moments before the finally shifting back to the shelf. "So, er... what do you want me to do about the shoulder-people thing?"

 _Oh, right_. That was still an issue, wasn't it? The Valkyrie coughed at the question, still not quite sure how to handle things, as her own gaze followed Blake's attention to the empty bookshelf.

It was clear that she had to confront the two, and it was clear that the two shoulder-people didn't want that confrontation. But why? More to the point, was there anything she could do? If she thought about it logically, they were at a standstill. Neither Ozpin nor Cinder could really force her to listen to them, but at the same time, it wasn't like Nora could force any answers out of them either. There was no direct way for them to interact, at least not beyond shouting and pestering, and the two tiny people could disappear at a moment's notice.

Ugh. Honestly, there was no reasonable way to go about dealing with this problem. Still, that wasn't exactly what her teammate had asked, and unlike the whole mess with the two shoulder-people, Nora knew what to do about Blake.

"You don't worry about it, Blake. It's my problem, so I'll deal with it. Just..." Nora trailed off for a moment, her eyes falling on the other two empty beds as she cleared her throat. "Please don't mention it to Ruby or Weissy? I don't want them to think I'm crazy or anything. Or, well, crazier than I am, since I need to worry about talking shoulder-people."

"Alright." The corner of Blake's mouth curled up at that a faint smile that lasted for a few moments as she settled back in her bed. "But in return, could you not mention anything about me being a faunus?"

"Okay!" Nora nodded one last time. Personally, she didn't see the problem in Blake being a faunus, and she doubted her teammates would either, but from the way Blake looked when she was trying to hide ... _something_... it was probably better not to talk about it until the girl herself was ready to talk about it.

Besides, Nora still had her own problems to deal with. How exactly was she going to settle things with Ozpin and Cinder?

* * *

The Valkyrie groaned, her mind beginning to stir as consciousness slowly washed back into her. Washed back? No, that's not right... that was part of her dream.

That was a nice dream, now that she thought about it, and she missed it already. There was a large kitchen atop a thunder mountain, with Ren acting as a chef once again. There was something about tributes and a gladiatorial arena combat thing, complete with a stuffed teddy bear. One of the gladiators had yelled at her about something, and seemed really angry about having to fight a plush animal. Or was it the bear that was yelling at her, for being a plush animal?

She didn't quite remember. What she did remember was the whole Maple Syrup tsunami that happened when Ren added the Sugar-infused sugar crystals.

Nora yawned, still not quite sure what had actually _happened_ in her dream. Still, the thought of maple syrup and Ren's cooking was enough to spur her awake, as she slowly pulled herself out of the bed.

" _Good morning, Nora!_ "

The first thing that greeted her was Ruby's half-shouted whisper. Half-whispered shout? Either way, her leader frantically waved at her, smiling cheerfully as she stood in full school uniform. Nora waved back, about to shout out an equally not-loud greeting, before she noticed something odd.

For some reason, their fearless leader was poised beside Weiss's bed, a mischievous smile on her face as she carried a whistle in her hand. Weiss, for her part, was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the scene around them as Ruby quickly alternated her attention between a small notepad thingy and Nora's sleeping partner. Oh, and for whatever reason, Ruby was wearing that RNBW sombrero from last night. How did she not notice that the first time she saw her leader?

"What..." The Valkyrie blinked, not quite sure what to ask, too dazed to properly voice her concerns. Her eyes turned from the leader to the rest of the room, only to find that it had somehow become more filled with RNBW knick-knacks, at least more than it had been yesterday. T-shirts, hoodies, more flags... She didn't know what to make of it, and took in the entirety of the room with more and more confusion. As her eyes found the last person of their team, Nora muttered the closest thing she could to a question.

"Am I still dreaming?"

"No, it's just that the rest of Ruby's order arrived." Blake supplied Nora with an answer, though one that only drew forth more questions, as her teammate turned her attention back to a book. A few moments passed before the girl noticed that confusion was still present in the Valkyrie's face, and Blake cleared her throat a bit as she spoke out once more. "Ruby... ordered all this from the campus store yesterday."

Yeah, no. That still didn't clarify things.

What sort of school store sold memorabilia based on newly-formed Huntress teams? Especially teams that were formed just yesterday? Did they just have the equipment lying around somewhere? And more importantly, if they _did_ have their own personal stuff-printer, could she commission them for sloth memorabilia? She had been meaning to get Ren a new sweater for quite some time.

"Well yesterday, Weiss said that I wasn't behaving 'appropriately' as a leader." Ruby chimed up from her spot, her tone simultaneously chipper and silent as she joined in the explanation. "So I asked Yang and her partner for help, and decided to try something more leader-like today! Or, well, more huntress-y!"

"What do you mean?" The last thing she remembered from yesterday, besides the whole conversation with Blake, was getting interrogated by the headmaster after their prank on Ruby's sister. And while Nora _was_ interrogated for quite a bit of time, she didn't think it was nearly enough to get so much stuff. The Valkyrie was about to turn to Ruby for some clarification, before something else entirely caught her eye.

A pancake iron with a holographic RNBW label.

"Well, I got some ideas after learning about how Yang's partner was Pyrrha. I asked Pyrrha for some help, and she said that the main reason why people knew about her was because of all the branding and stuff, and so I decided to search the store for stuff, and then a teacher with a bushy beard noticed me and offered to help and..."

Admittedly, Nora felt bad. The story that Ruby was telling was definitely important in some way. However, this was a fancy glowy _pancake iron_. The last time she had one, Ren had decided to confiscate it, since he didn't approve of her awesome creations. She didn't know why, either! All she had done was create the best pancake the world had ever seen. They were breakfast pancakes, with syrup and coffee and fruits and and... something else. She couldn't remember most of that day, if she was perfectly honest, but what she did remember was that it was _glorious_.

And now, Nora had another chance to make the perfect pancake. Right here. Right now. A smile formed on her face.

"...then the guy got a call from the staff and finally agreed to make it all an-Oh! I think she's waking up!" Ruby's voice chimed up one last time, quickly bringing her story to a close as she settled by the end of the bed. Nora absently nodded, her hand slowly reaching out for the pancake iron, hesitant to touch it as she basked in its glory.

" _ **Good morning Team Rainbow!**_ "  
"Ack!"

An exuberant voice shook Nora from her thoughts. Well, that, and the whistle, the scream that followed, and the crash that ended it all. Nora quickly turned her attention away from the appliance, concern written in her face as she tried to find exactly what had just happened.

" _What in the world is wrong with you?_ " The familiar, exasperated voice of Nora's partner groaned out from her bed. Okay, from the floor beside her bed. From the way Weiss was sprawled on the ground, it was clear that she didn't appreciate Ruby's methods of waking her up, and after a few moments, the white-haired teen pulled herself back up onto her feet. "... And whose bright idea was it to get you that whistle?"

"Dad's. He said it was important for something, so I've officially decided to use it for roll call!" Ruby wore a grin on her face as she spoke out, holding out the tiny whistle for the team to see. Nora made a mental note to ask Ren for one, but remained mostly quiet as she watched her leader turn to address the rest of the room. "But that's not important right now. What's important is that today's our first full day as Team Rainbow! And now that you're finally awake, it's time for our first team mission!"

"What... What are you talking about?"

Weiss was still confused as she brushed herself off, clearly unamused as she stared at their leader. And if Nora was perfectly honest, she was a bit lost as well. She didn't remember anything about missions, and the Valkyrie still wanted to make breakfast.

In return, Ruby grinned, holding up that notepad thing from earlier, pointing to a spot that she had scribbled on before gesturing to the room around them. "Decorating, of course!"

Nora's eyes lit up.


End file.
